Britain announces drone exclusion zone over airport runways

LONDON - An exclusion zone banning drones from being flown within 5 km of airport runways in Britain is to come into force on March 13, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced Wednesday.

Tougher measures are being introduced following drone incidents last December at London Gatwick which caused days of disruption to flights at Britain's second biggest airport.

The drone exclusion zone came after laws last year restricting the use of drones and bringing forward a new drone-users register.

The new exclusion zone is being increased by several kilometers, including banning drone flight within 5 km of runway ends, said the Department for Transport (DfT).

"The enlarged zone will better protect the UK's airports from those misusing drones, and will come into force on 13 March 2019," said the DfT in a statement.

Grayling said: "Anyone flying their drone within the vicinity of an airport should know they are not only acting irresponsibly, but criminally, and could face imprisonment."

The DfT added: "Work to progress a new Drones Bill is also underway in Britain and will be introduced later. It will give police the power to stop and search people suspected of using drones maliciously above 122 meters or within 5 km of an airport, helping them to tackle disruption such as that seen at Gatwick in December. It will also give additional new powers to the police to clamp down on those misusing drones and other small unmanned aircraft, including the power to access electronic data stored on a drone."

Britain's interior minister, Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Police are clear that stop and search is one of the most powerful tools they have to target and disrupt crime and I remain committed to giving them all the support they need to protect the public."