Denmark’s Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen wants to give airports and ports permission to shoot down drones that may pose a threat, according to Denmark’s DR News portal and highlighted by Skypuzzler’s Jesper Skou in a Linkedin post.
“He has sent a bill for consultation that would make it legal for certain public authorities and “infrastructure managers” to neutralize so-called uncooperative drones in areas designated as geographic drone zones,” said the DR news report, translated by google translate. “These could be, for example, airports, ports or companies responsible for operating bridges. If a drone flies that they don’t know about, and they’re already out regulating seagulls, or whatever, they can just shoot it down, says the minister.
“The bill is being well received at Copenhagen Airports. Over a longer period of time, we have experienced increasing drone activity around the airport, which can potentially disrupt air traffic, writes Kristoffer Plenge-Brandt, Operations Director at Copenhagen Airport, in a written response. Therefore, we are very satisfied that it is being looked at from a political perspective, it says.”
“At the Port of Køge, Director Thomas Kampmann also welcomes the proposal. We are looking into a situation where ports like Køge Port, which are used for military shipments, are of interest to foreign powers, he says. Today, there’s not much we can do other than call the police, and then the drone or drones are typically gone when the police arrive, he says. At the beginning of the year, the Port of Køge was severely disturbed by drones flying. It is still unknown who was behind it. They may have been from foreign powers, but perhaps also from private individuals who thought it was fun to fly in and be on the news in the evening, says Thomas Kampmann.”
According to a Linkedin commentary by Jesper Skou:
“The Minister of Transport’s proposal to allow ports and airports to shoot down drones testifies to due diligence in relation to the increasing threat posed by unauthorized drone activity. Security in and around critical infrastructure must of course be the highest priority. However, it is crucial that we implement a nationwide UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) system, which by the way both Norway and Sweden are in full swing with. With a UTM system, we can identify in real time the drones that are flying legally and registered – the so-called “cooperative drones”. Without a UTM system, it is difficult to identify the “non-cooperative” drones and we risk penalizing hobbyists and companies that operate fully legally, but are indistinguishable from the “non-cooperative” ones. At the same time, a nationwide UTM system can be the infrastructure that ensures the use of drones in national security and response.”
For more information
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesper-skou-557473/
https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/minister-vil-give-havne-og-lufthavne-lov-til-nedskyde-droner
(Image: Copenhagen Airport)
