The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has welcomed the latest announcement from the Government on its counter-drone strategy.

BALPA General Secretary, Brian Strutton, said:

“BALPA has campaigned for counter-drone measures to be introduced and we are pleased to see the Government both taking drone safety seriously and promoting sustainable growth of the industry – keeping the public safe is imperative if drones are to reach their full potential.

“We understand the huge commercial and leisure benefits of drones but the threat of a collision with an aircraft is real and could be catastrophic to those on board and on the ground, and so this threat must be taken seriously.

“Even without a collision, the chaos that drones can cause when infiltrating airspace has been proven with what we saw at Gatwick and Heathrow last Christmas. We hope the introduction of new technology will deter those so minded to do something similar, and will help with the detection and arrest of those who go ahead with it.”