Drone pilots flying at Dublin Airport being caught thanks to detection system
The anti-drone technology was launched in 2023 after a spate of idiots disrupted flights.
In the first two months of 2023 alone, the capital's airport was closed six times as a result of the devices.
Air traffic controller Laura Downey said they are still a worry but the new detection system, which can distinguish between drones and birds, works well and is very accurate.
She explained: "Drones are super dangerous …but for Dublin Airport, both AirNav and the daa have a drone detection system in place.
"There are certain areas on the airfield that if a drone is detected, the alarm will go off and we'll stop operations where it is affected.
"We've had departures delayed, people might give out that they were delayed on the runway for half an hour and that could be down to somebody flying their drone where they're not meant to.
"We just have to wait until we know that the drone is officially on the ground."
She explained the technology pinpoints exactly where the drone is being flown and the Gardai are immediately dispatched.
Laura said depending on the location, one runway could still remain operational after the alarm sounds.
She added: "Our two runaways are a kilometre apart, so there's a lot of space there. So if it's on the north runway, we'll just stop everything on the north runway.
"The Gardai are immediately dispatched and they'll arrest whoever is operating the drone."
Laura also revealed that the last reported drone sighting was at Dublin Airport within the last month.
Speaking of that day, she recalled: "There was a drone two weeks ago and we did stop operations on the landing runway. Obviously that causes a backup and we can't land for a while.
"It was a busy lunchtime rush, you initially thought all this traffic was going to be dealt with, all of a sudden we're holding in the air. Pilots are asking us questions but we don't have the information, it becomes quite high pressure."
It is illegal to fly a drone within five kilometers of an Irish airport. The offence could be considered Endangerment under Section 13 of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 and those convicted of this offence face up to seven years in prison.
It can also fall under Section 43 of the Air Navigation and Transport Act 1988 which is to cause a false alarm that interferes with the operation of an aircraft, aerodrome, or air navigation installation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Irish arm of US electronics giant Cadence embroiled in court case over sale of nuclear tech to China
Fearghal O'Connor US electronics firm Cadence has declined to say whether its Irish subsidiary was involved in export violations involving the sale of parts to China for supercomputers that run nuclear and military simulations. Cadence has agreed to plead guilty to charges that it committed criminal violations of export controls with regard to business in China.
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Heartbroken sister of man missing for 24 years hasn't given up hope he is alive
A heartbroken sister has told of the extreme lengths she has gone to find her brother who hasn't been seen in almost a quarter of a century. Jean Mahon saw her brother Richard Doolan for the last time in Croy, Glasgow on March 24, 2001. Now living in Dublin, she has never given up hope he could still be alive. Richard was reported missing to authorities when his mother had a gut feeling that something was wrong. When she visited his apartment to find his wallet, driving licence and his personal belongings still there, the family worries only grew. Despite extensive searches, they are none the wiser on what happened to him. Speaking on Venetia Quick's The Grief Pod, Jean said she doesn't feel she can grieve for her brother because there is no body and no resting place. Richard Doolan was 27 years old when he went missing on March 24, 2001 from Croy, North Lanarkshire, Scotland She said: 'When someone asks and you say my brother is a missing person, he's missing for 24 years, the first reaction from then is to say, 'I'm so sorry'. 'But I actually don't feel as if I have the right to grieve because I haven't lost him. 'You could ask me today and I would be pretty confident that Richard has passed. 'But yesterday Richard moved to London and he has a wife and a couple of kids and he's happy there. 'And that's the difference with this type of loss because you don't know. We don't have any way to grieve, there's nowhere for us to go.' The loving sister has gone to great lengths over the years to try and get questions answered about what happened to Richard. Jean and Richard Not long after he went missing she applied for a role within the government's social protection department, hoping she could get access to his files. Before he went missing Richard was claiming benefits, so she wanted to see if he was still collecting them. Jean explained: 'After six months I got a promotion to a separate building where I had access to Richard's files.' Despite knowing she could be fired for accessing those records, Jean was determined to get some answers. She continued: 'He hadn't got any more benefits. 'They stopped when he became a missing person. 'In a sense, I found what I needed to know but I didn't find what I was looking for. I was hoping maybe he had moved away and claimed somewhere else and there would be a forwarding address.' Jean said she still looks for Richard everywhere she goes Jean explained that the past 24 years have been 'an endless cycle of grief' with 'a bit of hope thrown in now and again'. Despite living in Ireland, she still looks for him everywhere she goes. She said: 'It happens every day. We went to Croke Park there, 83,000 people and 90% of the time you are looking at people. The way they walk, the way they turn their head, their height, their stature, just for the slightest chance maybe you could see him. 'I have jumped and thought, 'Omg that's Richard' then it's not, and they are the ones that hurt the most.' Jean praised the Irish Mirror's Missing Persons Campaign, which highlighted some of over 800 people who are missing in this country. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Irish Daily Mirror
14 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish animal charity issues warning over midnight 'cat-killing gangs'
An animal charity based in Co Cork has issued a warning to local cat owners following reports of gangs searching for family pets to "kill with packs of dogs". Volunteer group Cat Action Trust Cork took to social media on Saturday to issue the safety alert as they warned that "cat-killing gangs are going around at midnight" in the Glen area on Cork's northside, "looking for cats to kill with packs of dogs again." The warning comes just months after Gardai in Cork launched an investigation into claims that a gang of youths were handing live cats over to be savaged by dogs. The disturbing incidents allegedly occurred in the Mahon area in March and April of this year. Speaking to Neil Prendeville on Red FM in early April, Mahon resident Louise Brazier-Graf said the attacks began a few weeks previously when a large group of boys used an elderly, stray cat as bait in a dog fight. 'It was a Wednesday evening, around 8-8:30, and I went to close my windows and there was this commotion going on outside,' she said. 'There was a huge group of boys, about 10 groups of boys, two grey [...] lurches. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week 'They actually handed this poor, defenseless cat to the lurches. 'My son and I ran outside, screamed at them, got them to go away, but the two dogs ravaged the cat, and I watched the poor animal die. "It's one of the most horrific things that I've ever actually had to witness.' Louise continued: "And then last night's one was a neighbour's cat, and it was killed outside the front of its house after a dog was set on it. 'I heard the commotion, I heard the cat screaming, but of course, by the time we got there, he was done. 'The two youths just ran away and my son and another neighbour chased the dog. They tried to catch him to keep the dog and put him in with the pound or whatever, but they couldn't catch him. Gardai confirmed at the time that they "received reports of suspected animal cruelty that occurred in the Mahon area of Cork City on the 8th of April 2025," and that "Enquiries are ongoing.' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
