Pilot spots large unidentified drone off Co Wicklow coast during UK air traffic control outage
Why It MattersThe incident highlights how drone sightings near commercial flight paths can compound disruption during already strained air traffic control operations across Europe.
A pilot flying from Cornwall to Dublin reported sighting a large unidentified drone off the Co Wicklow coastline at 5:20 pm on Tuesday, as a major air traffic control system failure disrupted flights across the UK and Ireland. The drone was observed at an altitude of 6,000 feet, roughly 1.62 miles to the left of an Aer Lingus aircraft, according to air traffic control communications. AirNav Ireland, which oversees Irish airspace, confirmed that a safety report was filed in line with standard procedures and that the sighting was reported to An Garda Síochána, adding it had no further comment as the matter was with the relevant authorities.
The sighting occurred amid a technical failure affecting Nats, the UK's air traffic control provider, which disrupted services to 15 British airports. More than 1,000 flights were cancelled at UK airports on Tuesday, and around 90 flights to and from Dublin Airport were cancelled as a result.
Dublin Airport announced on Wednesday that airlines were operating a full schedule of flights after working overnight to reposition aircraft, while cautioning that some disruption across the wider European flight network remained possible and advising passengers to contact their airlines directly for updates.
