MSP contacts HIAL on airport drone resilience
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has contacted Highlands and Islands Airports following drone incidents at Gatwick and Heathrow.
Sightings of drones around the London airports have led to aircraft being grounded, in Gatwick’s case for several days, while reports are investigated.
The MSP has requested information on whether the public sector airport authority had experienced any reports of drones entering their airspace and whether protocols were in place to guard against drone incursions.
Mr Halcro Johnston has also questioned how aircraft safety can be prioritised under HIAL’s plans to centralise air traffic services in Inverness, using remote towers in other airports.
Jamie Halcro Johnston MSP said:
“The recent delays caused by drone sightings at Gatwick and Heathrow have caused significant disruption to thousands of passengers. It was concerning to see that such easily accessible technology can cause such an enormous impact.
“It is, of course, right that airports take an approach where the safety of passengers is paramount.
“That requires proper guidance to be in place ahead of time. I would like to see how safety from localised problems like drones incursions can be assured when HIAL’s plans to implement remote towers are put in place, without air traffic control staff in local airports.”
