Flights carrying hundreds of passengers were diverted from Dublin Airport – after light from equipment was mistaken for a drone, it has emerged.
The Irish Mirror has confirmed that Friday’s alert – which saw four passenger planes in the air diverted and led to the shutting down of the runways for 10 minutes – was caused by Dublin Airport Authority (daa) equipment.
Sources have told us that the major alert started when the light was seen in the sky, prompting fears that a drone was flying over the area.
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A daa spokesman said: “We have concluded that on Friday there was no drone present but the presence of drones on Saturday afternoon and Monday afternoon has been verified and these incidents are being investigated by An Garda Siochana.”
On Friday four Ryanair flights – from Gatwick, Glasgow, Alicante and Malaga – were all diverted to either Shannon or Belfast, while other planes had to go around or take holding patterns over the Irish Sea during the alert.
A spokesman for daa told us: “The flying of drones near Dublin Airport is reckless.
“daa strongly urges drone owners to follow the strict regulations on the operation of drones to avoid a repeat of the disruption to our passengers, airline partners over recent days.
“The drone detection system in place at Dublin Airport, working in tandem with input from airline pilots, ground crew and Air Traffic Control, provides a robust monitoring system which allows for a safe and timely response to these incidents to allow us to focus on our top priorities, safety and security.
“daa is keen to see prosecutions follow in the near future to help send a clear message to drone owners that the flying of drones within the five kilometre exclusion zone around Dublin Airport is strictly forbidden and is illegal.”
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan warned that gardai would come down heavy on anyone using drone illegally around the airport.
He added: “We will make sure working with the guards and the airport that everything is done to try and stop it.”
Following a meeting between his Department, the daa and gardai last night, Mr Ryan said “all the relevant bodies have committed to working together to ensure a rapid and effective response to such incidents.”
His statement said that the daa “have a drone detection system in operation that gives early warning of illegal drone activity”.
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