Height of lunacy
In astonishing security blunder, aviation chiefs alert thousands of drone pilots days in advance to EXACT ROUTE taken by royal helicopters
DETAILED plans of Royal helicopter flights have been made public in advance for the first time, posing a massive security risk to the Queen and her family.
Air traffic control updates that can be seen by millions now give the exact routes and times of the trips to be taken by senior Royals 48 hours before they take off.
The astonishing decision came amid growing fears that a drone could collide with a helicopter. It was hoped that publicising the routes would minimise this risk.
But there are also fears that terrorists could use the system to plot an attack – security experts have warned jihadis are planning to use drones loaded with explosives as deadly weapons.
Using the information made public for the first time last week, The Mail on Sunday was able to see, two days in advance, that the Royal helicopter was flying from Windsor Castle to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire on Friday. Prince Charles and Prince Andrew had separate official engagements in the area that day.
Using co-ordinates given in the update, we were able to get close enough to photograph Prince Andrew boarding the Sikorsky S756 helicopter to fly home to Windsor – ironically after a visit to the Government spy HQ in Cheltenham.
The day before, the alert system showed the Royal helicopter was due to fly from Kensington Palace to Membury airfield in Berkshire, where Princess Anne had flown to visit a stud farm.
Last night former head of royal protection Dai Davies warned: ‘This gives me grave concern as to the overall risk potential. I just despair.’ And security expert Pro- fessor Anthony Glees said: ‘Far from deterring people from flying drones nearby, they are in fact telling them how best to do so. To publicise where a Royal helicopter will be flying is to encourage terrorists, mad people and pranksters.’
Documents seen by this newspaper show that the move to make the flight details public has been in part prompted by the menace posed by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, with dozens of near-misses between drones and aircraft last year.
All pilots, including drone enthusiasts, are required before they fly to check a safety alert system known as NOTAM – Notice To Airmen – to see if there are any potential hazards.
Last night, aviation consultant Paul Beaver said he believed publicising Royal flight plans more widely would improve safety as it would encourage pilots and drone operators to stay clear. He said: ‘The greater risk is private planes, airliners, air taxis, air ambulances or drones flying into them.’
A spokesman for the Royal Household said: ‘We are not commenting on the change in arrangements.’