A purported “drone attack” saw Lisbon airport shut its air space for 26 minutes last weekend.
No planes were affected, as the ‘attack’ came shortly before midnight on Friday.
It was called in by a pilot landing in Lisbon who described “various drones” – possibly as many as 10.
This was the third incident involving drones over national flight strips in the last two weeks.
On August 16 a drone over Porto’s Sá Carneiro airport led to a 40-minute lockdown on flight movements, and then last week a drone ‘fell’ onto one of the runways in Lisbon, causing a shutdown of airspace for eight minutes.
In this latter case, police opened an investigation, citing the owner of the drone as an official suspect.
But the whole issue of drones is becoming a global problem with the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK, for example, pushing for new legislation.
Here, tabloid Correio da Manhã reports that there have been 16 cases involving drones flying over national airports in the first six months of this year.
In each case, the drones were sighted close to runways either as planes approached them or as they completed their landings.
Civil aviation authority ANAC prohibits the flight of drones near Portuguese airports. Penalties range from fines of €300 euros to €7,500 and can include jail terms (maximum 10 years).
The most serious incidents could fall into the category of “threatening the safety of air transport”.
Since July this year, drone owners are obliged to take out special insurance, depending on the weight of their machines.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
