Determined action by the security and monitoring teams at Ben Gurion Airport led to the prevention of a safety hazard and the apprehension of a drone operator who had entered the airport’s airspace.
At 11:40 a.m., an employee in Ben Gurion Airport’s control room detected a drone approaching the airport area. Several minutes later, it was identified as having entered the airport’s municipal boundaries. From the moment it was detected, a coordinated response involving control room personnel, operations staff, security personnel, and teams on the ground was launched, while Ben Gurion Airport police were dispatched to locate the drone operator.
When the small aircraft entered the municipal area bordering the airport, authorities decided to impose a localized flight freeze that lasted only several minutes. Throughout the incident, control teams maintained continuous surveillance of the drone’s flight path.
The combination of advanced technological systems, observations by teams on the ground, and the vigilance of personnel in the control room provided precise information that led police directly to the operator’s location.
Less than an hour after the drone was initially detected, police officers located and detained the operator. An initial investigation at the scene found that he had been flying the drone to film a promotional video for a construction company.
The Israel Airports Authority stressed that unauthorized drone flights in the vicinity of Ben Gurion Airport can endanger aviation safety. Drones may not be flown in restricted airspace without the required permits and in accordance with the law.