Ministers condemn 'unacceptable' drone activity at Dublin Airport
Ministers 'concerned at the impact on the travelling public of delayed and diverted flights'. Picture: Colin Keegan/ Collins
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has met with representatives of Dublin Airport operator Daa and An Garda Síochána to discuss incidents involving drones over the past few days.
Flights were suspended on Friday, Saturday and again on Monday evening due to activity in the airspace around Dublin Airport.
Mr Ryan, along with Minister of State Jack Chambers, met with the Daa, gardaí as well as representatives from the Irish Aviation Authority and the Department of Justice on Tuesday evening.
They will be briefed on the incidents in question and will hear about the ongoing efforts to address the use of drones in the vicinity of the airport.
It is illegal to fly drones within 5km of Dublin Airport.
The Ministers reiterated that they take this issue very seriously and will work closely with relevant state bodies to ensure that the illegal use of drones is tackled effectively.
They also condemned the "unacceptable disruption" to passengers arising from the incidents over the weekend.
In a statement, they said that the safety of passengers, airline crew and those within the airport is the primary consideration for all involved.
"The measures taken over St. Brigid's bank holiday weekend, including the suspension of flight operations, were in line with international best practice on aviation safety.
"Summary proceedings and proceedings on indictment can be brought under civil aviation legislation and the criminal code with the possibility of sentences of up to 7 years on conviction."
There are EU and national rules in place around the use of drones, including an exclusion zone of 5km around airports. The misuse of drones is a criminal offence.
Fine Gael senator Regina Doherty called for the grounding of drones which are not registered with the Irish Aviation Authority.
She said: “Every drone has a unique identifier called a Media Access Control address assigned to it. Through the Irish Aviation Authority, we have a national register of every drone sold in this country, and while every drone operator should — in theory — be linked to an individual MAC address, the system is frequently flouted.
“Ireland needs to introduce stronger regulations on drone ownership from the point of sale, to ensure prosecution for operators who fly their drones in an illegal, irresponsible and dangerous manner.
Meanwhile, a former member of the air corps has warned drones could cause "catastrophic failure" of a plane's engine.
Former lieutenant colonel Kevin Byrne warned the drone operators there were "enough hazards" in the airpsace without the addition of drones.
He told : "You're supposed to keep away from prohibited airspace, restricted airspace and, of course, controlled airspace. There are enough hazards involved in aviation safety.
"The effects of an aircraft taking off and ingesting one of these things would be extremely serious. It would probably lose the engine because unlike the birds, this thing is made of metal and plastic. It will cause a catastrophic failure of an engine. And we just can't have that. It's criminal. It should be stopped."
