Drone safety warning issued

A SAFETY awareness campaign has been launched at Dublin Airport which is specifically aimed at drone users.

To protect the airfield, signage has been mounted on the airport’s perimeter fence indicating that Dublin Airport is a No Drone Zone and highlighting that it is illegal to operate a drone in the vicinity of the airport.

Dublin Airport’s Chief Police Officer, Pat Bracken, said safeguarding the airfield at the airport is a key priority. 

“Drones are becoming an increasingly popular way to film the countryside,” said Mr Bracken. “However, they can cause serious damage to an aircraft.

“We have been working with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) to keep the airfield safe from drones and signs have now been mounted on the airport’s perimeter fence to ensure we keep Dublin Airport a No Drone Zone.”

Drones are forbidden from the airport and the airport vicinity due to the risk of a drone colliding with an aircraft or being ingested into the aircraft’s engine.
The IAA’s Director of Safety Regulation, Ralph James, said it very much welcomed this development at Dublin Airport. 

“It’s essential that the general public understand that drone activity is prohibited from taking place within the vicinity of an aerodrome for safety reasons,” said Mr James.

“There have been a couple of incidents of people using drones close to Dublin Airport, which have disrupted operations and drone users need to be aware of the rules for the safe operation of drones.”

All drones over 1kg must be registered with the IAA through its website www.iaa.ie/general-aviation/drones.

The IAA encourages drone operators to familiarise themselves with the rules for drone operations to ensure that they operate their drone in a safe and responsible manner. Dublin Airport facilitated a record 215,000 aircraft movements in 2016.