Drone Incident Management at Aerodromes

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as "drones", are more and more present these days. While being used responsibly, they can be a benefit to society (e.g. during rescue missions), create great video recordings (e.g. TV/film industry) or just be used for hobby-purposes.

However, unauthorised drone operations can become a significant safety hazard when being too close to aerodromes. Besides the evident safety hazard, if a drone is spotted near or at an aerodrome, flight operations are typically suspended or severely interrupted. This results in flight cancellations, major delays and therefore costs to aerodrome operators and airlines. For example, according to EUROCONTROL, a cancelled flight comes at a system-wide average cancellation cost of 18.570 €, while delayed flights can quickly cost more than 100 € per minute.

Being prepared is crucial to mitigate the associated risks as well as to minimise the economic impact. Part of this preparation is the establishment and implementation of a dedicated drone incident management process  (e.g. in form of a Standard Operating Procedure) on how to manage drone incidents at the aerodrome. A solid process will save valuable time if operations are suddenly threatened by an unauthorised drone and decisions need to be taken to safely address the incident. Overall, this is somewhat similar to how aerodrome operators already cater for other “conventional” emergency situations. Participants will learn how a process should be structured and which subphases it contains.

This course will make the participants familiar with the key steps which are recommended to be implemented by aerodrome operators and involved stakeholders to cope with potential drone incidents at their aerodromes. Considering best practices, such as EASA and IATA guidelines and recommendations, participants will learn how to distinguish between actions that should be taken before, during and after a drone incident. This will ensure that both, proactive as well as reactive measures are implemented at the right stage and level. For instance, during a drone incident, actions should be taken and categorized according to defined phases (e.g. verification, decision, response, restoration phase). The elements of these phases depend on the complexity of the aerodrome. Furthermore, specific reaction teams or task forces could be established to channel the flow of information in case of a drone incident.

After the course, participants will have a better understanding of what drone incident management at their aerodromes means and which essential measures they or their entity can implement. Moreover, it will enable them to incorporate and align the drone incident management with the existing safety management system (SMS) as well as emergency response plans (ERP).