Ryanair has called on Eamon Ryan and the daa to ensure that anti-drone equipment is in place for Easter to prevent planes being unable to fly.
The airline have put pressure on the Minister for Transport and the daa to confirm that anti-drone technology, which was recently purchased due to flight disruptions at Dublin airport in January, will be in operation for the bank holiday weekend.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: "Eamon Ryan promised to protect passengers with anti-drone equipment, so he must now confirm that this equipment is in place and fully operational at Dublin Airport in advance of the busy Easter holidays, so that Irish passengers and visitors and their families will not suffer any more closures/disruptions due to illegal drone activity at Dublin Airport.”
On six days in early 2023, flights were disrupted and unable to take off for a number of hours due to illegal drone activity at the airport which caused multiple diversions and delays to thousands of passengers. And Ryanair want to clarify that this issue will not arise again.
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The spokesperson for the airline commented: “It is unacceptable that flights and passengers have suffered repeated delays and diversions due to illegal drone activity at Dublin Airport on six separate days in 2023."
A spokesperson for the daa, the operator of Dublin Airport, said that they are "working through regulatory approvals" before they are allowed to use it.
They told Dublin Live: "Dublin Airport has recently purchased additional operationally proven counter drone technology and members of the fire service at Dublin Airport have been trained in its use. We are currently working through regulatory approvals before we are allowed use it."
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