Drone activity temporarily halts flights at Dublin Airport
Jonathan McCambridge, PA
All flights at Dublin Airport were temporarily suspended on Tuesday evening following drone activity in the area.
A post on the airport’s Twitter feed shortly before 9pm said: “Due to illegal drone activity in the vicinity of Dublin Airport, all flight operations are currently suspended.”
A message sent out some minutes later said: “Flight operations at Dublin Airport have now resumed after a suspension of 30 minutes.”
A third message from the airport said: “We would remind drone users that it is illegal to fly a drone within 5km of the airport.
Due to illegal drone activity in the vicinity of Dublin Airport, all flight operations are currently suspended. Further updates will follow…
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) February 21, 2023
“Severe punishments must follow for anyone found guilty.”
A statement from Daa, the operator of Dublin Airport, said there were no flight diversions.
The statement said: “Daa, the operator of Dublin Airport can confirm flight operations were suspended for 30 minutes this evening between 20.22 and 20.52 in line with our safety protocols, due to a confirmed drone sighting.
“An Garda Síochána was immediately advised. There were no flight diversions.
“The state must consider counter-drone technology for use by the Department of Defence to take down drones that threaten passengers and aircraft activity in such a reckless manner.”
This is the latest in a series of drone incidents at the airport in recent weeks, including several days of disruption to flights earlier this month.
Two people have faced court this month accused of disrupting flights at Dublin Airport by flying a drone, with the Government vowing to tackle the recurring issue.
Following Tuesday's incident, Ryanair called for Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan to "do something - anything" about the issue.
"It is unacceptable that more Ryanair flights and hundreds of passengers have again suffered disruptions and delays as Dublin Airport closed for a fifth time in four weeks due to (Minister for Transport) Eamon Ryan’s failure to take any action to prevent drone disruptions at Dublin Airport," a spokesperson for the airline said.
"Mr Ryan should explain why other EU airports have effective drone prevention measures in place, but Dublin keeps being disrupted while he is asleep on the job.
"Sadly, our (Minister for Transport) is all talk and no action when it comes to drone disruptions."
