An Airborne Hazard: Drones

An Airborne Hazard: Drones

This post is also available in: heעברית (Hebrew)

An increasing use of drones for commercial and leisure purposes world-wide has led to a rise in the number of near-misses with aircraft and infringements into no-fly zones, according to international reports. Because of this Dubai Airport is working on a system to detect and track drones.

Dubai Airports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths said in an interview: “We have to think of ways to control it instantly.  Recently we had a third event in four months where a flight was stopped because of drones. We cannot have close downs so often caused by infringements of drones in controlled airspace.”

Dubai Airport, which also includes Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, is conducting trials to create a tracking system to detect the real-time location of any nearby drone and the radio frequency on which it is being operated. Apart from Dubai, various countries, regions around the world are struggling to control the drone misuse. In the US, rules for commercial drone usage were published on Aug. 29. According to these rules, hobbyists must register crafts with the Federal Aviation Administration.

Similarly, in September, aviation associations representing airlines, pilots and airports across Europe called for mandatory registration and training of drone users, following a number of near-misses.

The UAE has laws governing drone use that ban flying vehicles in a prohibited area, including the country’s civil airports and civil installations. Breaking the drone law is punished by imprisionment for three years and a fine up to 100,000 dirhams ($27,228).