Drone technology to identify in-flight drones flying too close to airports

Are you one of the thousands who got a drone for Christmas? Pay attention if you want to stay on the right side of the law, with new technology to help authorities locate rogue pilots flying their devices too close to airports.

New technology will help authorities track down the location of rogue drone pilots. File image: Pascal Pavani

Are you one of the thousands who got a drone for Christmas? Pay attention if you want to stay on the right side of the law.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) will next month roll out new technology aimed at cracking down on rogue drone pilots who fly too close to Australian airports.

The technology, which will initially be used in capital cities, will be able to identify a drone while in-flight and read its serial number, ultimately alerting authorities to the location of the controller.

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New technology will help authorities track down the location of rogue drone pilots. File image: Pascal Pavani

“It will be the first time we have had the ability to identify drones in-flight that are breaking the rules and immediately issue penalties to the people that are flying them,” CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said.

“It is a timely warning to people who get drones for a Christmas present — next year we are going to be much more active in surveillance and enforcement.”

It is an offence to fly a drone within 5.5km of an airport and drone pilots must also avoid flying over crowds.

The new measures come as London reels from the Gatwick Aiport saga, which crippled flight operations for days.

Stranded passengers wait at London Gatwick Airport on December 20 after all flights were grounded due to drones flying over the airfield. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP

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Mr Gibson said the new measures had been in the works for some time and were not in response to the Gatwick incident.

He said there were a lot more drones in circulation and CASA would benefit from the new surveillance and enforcement capabilities.

In mid-2019, CASA will also introduce a scheme requiring recreational drone pilots to register their devices and undertake an online test.