- Dublin Airport was shut down briefly on Thursday because of a drone flying over the airfield.
- The airport tweeted at 11:56 a.m. local time saying they had suspended all flights due to a “confirmed sighting of a drone over the airfield.”
- Eight minutes later they re-opened the runway and flights resumed.
- The disruption is the latest in a string of drone sightings causing disruption at major airports.
- Gatwick Airport was closed for 32 hours in December 2018. London Heathrow and Dubai airports were also affected, but not for as long.
Dublin Airport briefly shut down its runway on Thursday after a drone was sighted hovering over the airfield.
Ireland’s largest airport sent a tweeted at 11:56 a.m. local time to say: “For safety reasons we are temporarily suspending flight operations @DublinAirport due the confirmed sighting of a drone over the airfield.”
Shortly after, at 12:04 p.m. (7:04 a.m. ET,) they said: “Flight operations have now resumed @DublinAirport following an earlier drone sighting. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
“The safety and security of passengers is always our key priority.”
The UK's two busiest airports were also hit by drone delays in late 2018 and early 2019.
A drone over a runway at Gatwick Airport forced the airport to close for more than 32 hours in late December, and it happened again two days later.
Gatwick is the second-busiest airport in the UK, handling over 45 million passengers each year. British police later said that some drone sightings during the Gatwick closure crisis may have been of their own surveillance drones.
