The Government has said anti-drone technology will be introduced at Dublin Airport, but that it will take “a number of weeks” to materialise.
Jack Chambers – the Minister of State at the Department of Transport – said the airport will have the technology to deal with drone disruption in the coming weeks, adding that the Government will look at similar needs in other public-facing environments such as hospitals, prisons, energy facilities and telecommunications networks.
The Government will also carry out an assessment to see if counter-drone technology is required to protect strategic infrastructure throughout the state such as energy facilities, telecommunications networks, hospitals and prisons.
Flights and passengers at Dublin Airport have been disrupted six times already this year, due to drone activity nearby.
Ryanair urged Transport Minister Eamon Ryan to take action or resign after the latest drone incident affected 20,000 of the airline’s passengers.
“A step change in urgency is required from the key stakeholders charged with managing this critical issue (Dublin Airport, the regulator and Department of Transport). Processes and technology are urgently required to prevent these events happening in the first place and to minimise the disruption if they do happen,” Aer Lingus said last week.
