Madrid (SPAIN) – Small wonder that an airport in the USA has contracted a counter-drone technology company to permanently deploy its software and hardware and be on the lookout for unauthorised drone lurking in the airport’s vicinity.
Spanish airports management company AENA tweeted on Monday that at least five flights had to be diverted from Madrid's Adolfo-Suarez-Barajas Airport, due to the presence of drones in the area.
“Due to the presence of drones at the Adolfo Suárez Airport in Barajas, Madrid. Diversions and delays are taking place. We are working together with the Civil Guard (Spanish military police) and (air navigation services provider) ENAIRE to restore operations,” AENA said.
"Arrivals have been restricted and for the moment, seven flights have been diverted to other airports."
A later tweet by the company confirmed that five flights were actually diverted – instead of the seven earlier predicted – to other destinations; three to Valencia, one to Alicante and one to Valladolid.
At the time of reporting, there is no information on whether the errant drones or their pilot were caught.
Drones are not allowed to operate within 15km of Madrid airport without special permission from the Spanish Interior Ministry and AENA, and prior communication with the airport's control tower. Permission must be requested 10 working days before an operation.
Failure to comply with these requirements could result in fines of between $3,000 and $300,000, or a prison sentence if the drone operator is considered to have endangered lives.
The news comes in the wake of an announcement by American counter drone services provider DroneShield that it was deploying its counter drone system, DroneSentry counter drone system at an international airport that chooses to remain anonymous as of now.
According to DroneShield, this will be the first permanent deployment of DroneSentry at an airport in the US.
“The DroneSentry system configuration provides advanced detection capability, in compliance with current U.S. legislation for civilian airports,” the company said in a statement.
“The deployed system includes DroneShield’s RfOne passive long-range drone detection sensors integrated with DroneSentry-C2 command-and-control enterprise software. The system provides near real-time drone detection, tracking and reporting assisting airport authorities with security and risk assessment throughout the airspace.”
Jayde Wilks, DroneShield Sales Executive, added; “As more drones take to the sky every year, it increases the risk profiles for airports. Drones can damage, or even bring down, an airliner with contact.
“Reports of airport disruptions due to drones continue to rise, and the safety risk and cost involved from plane diversions and flight disruptions can be significant. With this and future airport deployments, we look forward to helping address this risk.”