'Take action or resign' — Michael O'Leary vents fury over drone disruption at Dublin Airport
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary: “It’s time for the Minister to take action or to resign. He is incompetent."
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said that there is no need for legislation to allow the use of anti-drone technology at Dublin Airport.
According to Mr O'Leary, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan should make a decision to allow the use of such technology by the Dublin Airport Authority.
He said: "The minister just needs to empower the airport authority.
“He should make a decision to take drones down. Who’s going to sue him? The drone operators?”
Mr O'Leary told RTÉ's that most airports in Europe have anti-drone technology, but Mr Ryan appeared not to be prepared to take action.
He said: “It’s time for the minister to take action or to resign. He is incompetent.
It comes after flight operations were cancelled at the airport again last night due to drone activity — the sixth such incident this year.
Dublin Airport said a drone was spotted within 5km of the airport at 6.27pm yesterday evening, and three flights were diverted "discommoding passengers".
Gardaí were immediately notified and flight operations resumed at 6.59pm.
In a statement on Twitter, Dublin Airport has called for the issue to be resolved: "Drones causing disruptions at airports and events is a state wide issue that needs to be tackled with new legislation, a State agency responsible for managing counter-drone technology and harsher sentences."
Drones causing disruptions at airports and events is a state wide issue that needs to be tackled with new legislation, a State agency responsible for managing counter drone technology and harsher sentences. pic.twitter.com/3m1DmM0pQa
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) March 2, 2023
Aer Lingus expressed concern over the recurring issue and has urged the Government to act.
In a statement, it said: "This evening there was further disruption at Dublin Airport due to drone activity, which again, had an impact on both passengers and airline operations.
"A step change in urgency is required from the key stakeholders charged with managing this critical issue (Dublin Airport, the regulator and Department of Transport).
"Processes and technology are urgently required to prevent these events happening in the first place and to minimise the disruption if they do happen.
"This is the third drone incident in a matter of weeks, creating a level of disruption that is both concerning and unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, Graeme McQueen of Daa, which runs Dublin airport, has warned that continued drone disruptions could have an impact on the planned visit of US President Joe Biden to Ireland.
Mr McQueen told RTÉ radio’s show that while drone activity at present was focused on Dublin airport, it could happen at any airport in the state.
“We've looked loosely at potential solutions and we've passed these on to the Government.
"But at the moment, we could have all these solutions sitting on our desk right now, but we're not able to use them because we don't have the legislation. We've got a system in place that would allow us to do that.
“So for the moment, you know, we're looking at the skies all the time. We've got our drone system where we see a drone, we can act on it.
"We need to pause operations like last night. But we don't have the ability to use any of those tools and equipment in order to bring the drones down.”
When asked about the tone of the meeting with Transport Minister Eamon Ryan this morning, Mr McQueen said that the broad feeling was one of frustration. Drone disruptions were “hugely inconveniencing” for passengers.
“What we heard in the message in the meeting today was a fresh commitment that we're going to get to grips with this.
"The feedback we got this morning was that the Minister is absolutely going to make something happen and hopefully we can get rid of drones as an issue at Dublin Airport.” The Dublin Airport Authority was very effective at spotting drones, but what was needed now was a State agency with the ability to take the drones out of the sky, he said.
“That would mean we don't have to stop operations. It would mean that we didn't have to stop operations for 40 minutes six times in eight weeks. So the sooner we can get to that point, the better for everyone."
Other airports had successfully dealt with the problem, he added.
“We don't need to reinvent the wheel. I think we know what's happened at the London airports. They've corrected the issue. They don't have a problem. And that's the position that we want to get to.
"So whatever it costs, I think we need to put this infrastructure in place, get the legislation in place that allows us to bring drones down, and that will mean we won't have any more drone disruption, not just at Dublin Airport but all around the country.”
It was good news that the Minister was “absolutely up for solving the problem.”
Fine Gael senator and former Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has also criticised the response.
Ms Doherty, a Fine Gael representative for Fingal, said: “Last night, flights were grounded at Dublin Airport for the sixth time in eight weeks after yet another drone operator threatened our airspace and public safety.
“It is common knowledge that drones cannot be flown within a 5km radius of the airport; yet, some insist on defying this.
“Thousands of passengers had their flights suspended or diverted in recent months, causing frustrating delays across a range of airlines. Three flights were diverted to Belfast and Shannon last night causing further angst."
There is nothing new here, she said, and this happens every time a drone is spotted by the airport, and every time, the same questions are asked.
“My question is: what have Minister Ryan and the Daa done about the need to take down drones, and drone operators, over the last few years?
“I am renewing my call for new technology to be introduced that can neutralise — or ‘jam’ — light aircraft that poses a threat to our airspace. They do it in other European countries; let’s learn from international best practice.
“In order to do that, though, we need to legislate. Minister Ryan and his department need to finally act swiftly and decisively, to enact legislation that will permit this technology."
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