Drone warning as airport reports major rise

Paul Farmer called on drone users will fly more responsibly and think of the airport

An airport says it has seen a significant rise in the number of drones entering its restricted airspace.

Newcastle Airport is urging drone users to fly responsibly after a 371% increase in the number of people using them in its Flight Restriction Zones (FRZ) this year.

Paul Farmer, director of operations at the airport, said 165 drone flights have been recorded so far this year, compared to 35 in 2024.

"A lot of people will be flying a drone and won't even be able to hear our aircrafts, but rest assured we will see them," he said.

"If you are flying your drone in your back garden our control tower will see it if you're within the FRZ, we will get an alert in the tower and we will be able to pinpoint exactly where it is."

Newcastle Airport's FRZ, which extends for 5km around the airport, is in place to protect the air space and covers a wide area of Newcastle, encompassing Ponteland, Darras Hall, Great Park, Westerhope and parts of Kenton.

The Civil Aviation Authority says it is illegal to fly a drone without permission, and flying one in a restricted zone could lead to prosecution.

'Causes disruption'

Mr Farmer told BBC Radio Newcastle he believes the main factor for the increase is the accessibility of drones.

"You can pick up a drone on Amazon for around £30 and fly it out the box," he said.

Other reasons include an increase of drones in commercial use by businesses and how easy they are now to fly.

Mr Farmer said the airport is not looking to prosecute anyone, other than repeat offenders, but wants to ensure people fly drones responsibly.

"We are not saying you can't fly drones, we are saying can you do it responsibly," he said.

"I don't think a lot of people are aware that they fall within our catchment area."

The zone is monitored by the Air Traffic Control team who have to act when they spot a possible drone or an unrecognised object.

"That's likely to cause disruption. We might not land an aircraft during that period, we might hold aircrafts on the ground, we don't have the ability to talk to the pilot or communicate with them in anyway and that's where the complication comes," Mr Farmer said.

Newcastle Airport is working with Northumbria Police to help educate drone users on where they can fly safely.

The airport website details where the FRZ is and lists rules for flying.

Drone pilots can request permission to fly within an FRZ but this must be done at least 24 hours before a planned flight.