Government ministers vow to tackle drone disruption at Dublin Airport

By Rebecca Black, PA

Government ministers have vowed to tackle the issue of drones disrupting flights at Dublin Airport.

Drones spotted flying in the vicinity of the airport caused disruption to flights on Friday, Saturday and Monday.

There were suspensions of flight activities on each of the days for safety reasons.

Airline Ryanair condemned the situation as unacceptable and urged the Irish Government to act.

On Tuesday evening, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Jack Chambers met with daa – the operator of Dublin Airport, the Irish Aviation Authority, the Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána.

In a statement after the meeting, 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 condemned the “unacceptable disruption to passengers arising from the incidents over the weekend”.

The minsters said that all the relevant bodies have committed to working together to ensure a rapid and effective response to such incidents.

They said daa has a drone detection system in operation that gives early warning of illegal drone activity and information garnered from this system is being used to pursue enforcement activity, including prosecution, which can carry a sentence of up to seven years on conviction.

The ministers said they will engage across government to strengthen the ability to deal with such incidents, including exploring the potential for enhanced technological solutions.

A policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems (drones) is also in development and will include measures on enforcement and compliance.