Pilots: Curbs on drones don’t go far enough

A CRACKDOWN on drones near airports will not prevent a ‘catastrophic collision’ with a passenger plane, pilots warned yesterday.

From July 30, drones will be banned from flying above 400ft and within one kilometre of airport boundaries, the Department for Transport has said.

But the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) warned that the restrictions ‘create a very dangerous situation’ as aircraft tend to be lower than 400ft when a kilometre from an airport.

The union said it had hoped the Government would introduce similar regulations to those in Australia where drones cannot be flown within 5.5km of an airfield. Steve Landells, of Balpa, said a ‘hobbyist drone has no business being flown near an airport and allowing this to happen increases the risk of a catastrophic collision’.

The crackdown will require owners of drones weighing more than 250g to register with the Civil Aviation Authority from November 30 next year. Users will also have to take online safety tests.