Royal flights shake-up . . . but public can STILL track their helicopters
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FULL details of Royal helicopter flights are no longer being revealed in advance after The Mail on Sunday exposed serious security risks.
But the shake-up, ordered by Palace officials, has failed to stop trips taken by the Queen and senior Royals from being tracked, the MoS can reveal.
The precise time and route of journeys to be taken in Her Majesty’s helicopter were controversially made public online for the first time this month, so that civilian pilots and drone operators could keep clear. However, as the MoS highlighted last week, terrorists could easily use the information to attack the Royal Family.
Under the revised policy, plans for the flight carrying Prince William from Kensington to Birmingham on Friday were less detailed and did not specify that a Royal would be aboard.
And they did not give the precise departure and arrival points or the route that would be taken, as earlier plans had done.
However, the information that went online on Thursday afternoon still gave enough details for the MoS to identify William as the passenger.
And the itinerary gave the exact arrival and departure times, meaning reporters were able to watch him board the burgundy Sikorsky S-76 in Kensington.
The MoS revealed last week how flights taken by Princess Anne and Prince Andrew had been publicised 48 hours in advance. The Royal plans are published under a system known as NOTAM – Notice for Airmen – giving warnings to fliers and drone operators about hazards.
The NOTAM alerts are distributed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and NATS, the UK’s air traffic control body, via websites and apps.
Last night former head of Royal protection Dai Davies said: ‘I am delighted that somebody has taken notice of The Mail on Sunday. It is a step in the right direction, but you need to review all aspects of Royal security, particularly at this time.’
A CAA spokesman said the decision to reduce the level of detail had been taken by the Royal household. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘We will not comment on security considerations around Royal flights.’