Drone detection system goes live at Berlin Airport

Germany has put a drone detection system into operation at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), the country’s Transport Ministry said.

The system, installed by Germany’s air traffic control authority, is designed to detect drones at an early stage in airport approach and departure areas and alert the relevant authorities to potential risks to air traffic, the ministry said.

“We take the increasing threat posed by drones around airports very seriously,” Transport Minister Steffen Bilger said at BER late Tuesday.

Bilger said it had been important to act quickly and equip Germany’s international airports with drone detection technology.

The move comes after repeated sightings of drones near German airports. The Transport Ministry said other international airports across the country are expected to receive similar detection systems for their approach and departure areas over the course of the year.

BER recorded more drone sightings than any other German airport during the first half of the year.

According to figures provided by German air traffic control, the airport’s control tower recorded 28 drone sightings in the first six months of the year, one more than at Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s largest airport.

Flight operations at BER were temporarily suspended in seven of those cases.

By Tamilla Hasanova