Heathrow Airport has been the site for many controversial drone incidents over the past few years. While it can be a fantastic way to view an area, drones can also create a lot of havoc.
In fact, in one of the most controversial moments of the airport, Heathrow was forced to shut down during its busiest period because of a drone.
Heathrow Aftermath
The Heathrow drone incident caused the airport to suspend all incoming and outgoing flights for over 24 hours. This is an incredibly long amount of delay, especially since it was during the holiday rush. In the midst of angry passengers, frustrated staff, and building pressure, the airport was lost in confusion.
Today, that incident stands as a grim reminder on the airport’s lack of preparedness. So far, the Heathrow airport has increased its defenses against drones. For starters, they increased the drone ban perimeter. Usually, it was at 2-3 kilometers around the airport. Heathrow, as well as many others increased this to 5 kilometers. This means that any drones flying within this area are susceptible to fines and other reprimands.
More Defenses
Building on this, the airport also declared that they are now using drone detectors. Using this technology, they can spot a flying drone in the area almost instantly. Not only that, this detector has a more powerful second usage. It can detect a drone as well as the owner’s location during flight. Meaning they can find the owner of the drone in question, which can help preventing these issues in the first place.
The most common result in these drone incidents is that the owner is never spotted. This means that owners of these drones do not face any consequences for the chaos created. Tracking the drone owner swiftly is a priority, as during the events of the Heathrow incident, a witch-hunt occurred. This lead to more chaos, and more importantly, uncertain suspects.
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