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THE NATIONAL CIVIL Aviation Threat and Risk Group is set to meet to discuss potential drone activity near Irish airports.
Minister for Transport Shane Ross called the meeting for tomorrow following recent incidents of possible drone activity at London’s Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
Departures from the Heathrow were suspended for around an hour yesterday evening following a suspected drone sighting at the airport.
There was also major disruption at Gatwick days before Christmas, when a suspected drone sighting stopped flights into and out of the airport.
The group is set to assess whether any steps should be taken to improve the response to potential drone activity around Irish airports in future.
An exclusion area of 5km around already exists around Irish airports, and Ross said the misuse of drones – particularly flying them in Irish airspace or within the exclusion zone – was “a very serious matter”.
“I have asked my Department to convene at short notice a special meeting of an expert industry group to assess recent events and advise me on how we are prepared at our own airports and whether there are further things which can be done,” he said.
However the Minister added that the likelihood of a drone attack in Ireland was “low”.
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Any excuse for the creation of another talking shop for people with nothing to do but justify their existence
@Bat Daly: a nice lunch in the middle to break the 5 hour day up
@Bat Daly: How do you think they should make decisions like this? Should they just shoot from the hip or maybe it’s best to discuss the issue and possible solutions with informed people before implementing any changes? Thank Jesus people like you aren’t in charge
@Tweety McTweeter: Shoot from the hip? Just like you did there now? In case you missed it, most people would realise I was having a go at the ridiculous amount of quangos, committees, tribunal etc in this country.
I’ve been at a few in my time and Toby Fish is right, All they are are expense ridden long lunches with an or two of work either side and rarely achieve anything worth the money spent on them.
Better warm up the old relationship with israel again. Might be needing their technology. Cap in hand time.
@All A Big JOKE: a shotgun would be a lot cheaper…
It seems would-be trouble makers only have to pretend they saw a drone. With these unsolved reported sightings a few crank calls may be enough to cause some serious disruption.
Is there anything to be said for another mass?
5Klm from an airport is the current rule. But with these things coming from China for a little as 40 euro, it’s now new rules about use .its new rules about who is purchasing them .
A buzzard hovering for minutes in the same place eyeing prey could to a bad pair of eyes be mistaken for a drone.
@Picture This: Or a small spider on the lens of binoculars?
@Picture This: Buzzards don’t hover. You’re thinking of a Kestrel.
@Picture This: A hovering buzzard….lol
@Shakka1244: httpss://youtu.be/CfzzFlvXadM
@Picture This: or a smudge on a window
Obviously Ross is incompetent to say the risk is low , the next big terrorist attacked will involve drones , they are cheap , carry heavy loads , fast , mobile , hard to defend against .
Anybody who flies near a airport doesn’t give a flying feck about the rules so its a bit pointless…
Are we so in love with new words Drone. Did we not have Model Airplanes before. Bird Strikes, risk management people, extremely low.
On what grounds does the minister make his security assessment?? Can think of several…..
However I’m sure that for the ‘safety of the people’ he can’t share them with us. Transparency in government? Of course…. but only for others!!!
Low hanging fruit!
It helps that it’s all 5km exclusion zone here, as it is in most countries. The UK however for some reason it only 1 mile. Makes it a bit harder to police.
The defence forces have not been given the capability to counter drones, I dont know what this meeting will achieve other than to state the obvious, if someone decides to close dublin airport by illegally flying a drone around the apron, then theres absolutely nothing, short of firing an anti aircraft missile or a machine gun at it, that we can do,
We barely use drones in the military as it is, the consistent under-funding of our military over the last 3 decades has left us FAR behind the capabilities that we should be able to field, securing at least ONE international airport should be one of those capabilities. We simply cannot do it. This needs to be addressed, but wont be until its too late.
Why can’t they be blown out of the sky ?
Anybody else think of Minister Joe Jacob when they read the headline?
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