Guernsey flies high with anti-drone technology

Friday 21 December 2018

After Gatwick was left in chaos thanks to drones, it's been suggested the airport should have anti-drone technology fitted, similar to what is already in place in Guernsey, around Les Nicolles Prison.

The fence was installed in Guernsey as part of a trial scheme earlier this year, and the prison governor, Dave Matthews, has said locally and to national media that it's been a huge success.

Coincidentally, earlier this week - around 48 hours before Gatwick was forced to close its runway when drones were spotted flying overhead - the Guardian newspaper published an article looking at anti-drone technology, using the fence around Les Nicolles as an example.

Pictured: Guernsey's Les Nicolles Prison which has fitted anti drone technology. 

It said that the UK government could introduce an anti-drone system "to stop drug smuggling in English prisons after a successful six-month experiment in Guernsey" which prompted ministers to "consider a U-turn about the technology."

The Prison Governor, Mr Matthews, had told the Guardian that it had worked “superbly” since it was installed in June and that "no drones had breached the prison’s perimeter and no devices had been damaged in the process."

Mr Matthews was quoted by the national newspaper as saying; “We put this up because we saw what was happening in the UK and we knew it was only a matter of time before Guernsey became victim to deliveries by drones.

“The system has just stopped the problem happening.”

Following the drone attack on Gatwick on Wednesday night, the Daily Mail also asked if the UK should be using anti-drone technology, and specifically whether its airports should be.

Although it highlighted a different system to the one used in Guernsey, it referenced calls on the UK mainland "for tougher anti-drone detection systems at UK airports that can spot devices up to five miles away within three seconds..."

The Daily Mail reported that, according to the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa), there were 117 near misses between manned aircraft and drones up until November this year. That compared to 93 for the whole of 2017 which was a rise of 58 per cent.

Pictured: Guernsey Airport. 

Guernsey Airport hasn't been immune to the problem of drones, with one person taken to court after being caught flying one of the machines over airport land last year. 

Media reports from the time said he pleaded guilty before Guernsey Magistrates' Court, and said he had lost control and crashed the drone next to a private jet at the airport. He was fined £1,500, with the Judge accepting it was an accident. 

Guernsey and Alderney both have the same clear guidance about the use of drones, which are not permitted over either airport, with Guernsey Airport stating that "operational restrictions apply in the vicinity of Guernsey and Alderney Airports, these being intended to protect ‘normal’ air traffic."

Pictured top: Les Nicolles Prison has anti drone technology around its perimeter.