UK bans drones from flying within 5 km of airports

LONDON: Britain will impose a 5 kilometre drone exclusion zone around its runways as the government responds to illegal incursions that closed London Gatwick airport for 36 hours in December, disrupting travel for more than 120,000 people.

The measures, taking effect March 13, extend the current 1-kilometer no-fly zone for unmanned and model aircraft, the Department for Transport said. Police will also gain new stop-and-search powers to help clamp down on violations.

“The law is clear that flying a drone near an airport is a serious criminal act,” Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said in the release.


“We're now going even further and extending the no-fly zone to help keep our airports secure.” Recklessly endangering an aircraft can mean a five-year prison term, rising to a potential life sentence for intentional acts of violence.

The government is drawing up a Drones Bill to grant police additional powers, such as the right to access electronic data stored on a drone without a search warrant.

Operators of drones weighing more than 20 kg must register as of Nov. 30 and take an online competency test.