Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport has closed its airspace after detecting the "presence of drones in the immediate vicinity of the airport", official sources from Enaire, the Spanish Transport Ministry said in a statement. The 'Rate 0' protocol has been activated for security, which prevents the landing and takeoff of any aircraft at the airport, Enaire, the air navigation manager said.
Demoras en Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez #Madrid-#Barajas ante la posible presencia de #drones en las inmediaciones.
— ENAIRE (@ENAIRE) February 3, 2020
🚫 Un dron no es un juguete, es una aeronave 👀 https://t.co/Sv8If6oexc
📲 Consulta tu vuelo con aerolínea. pic.twitter.com/6MKAFlMDCm
The airport will remain closed until at least 14:40 local time (13:40 GMT), while the Spanish police are conducting an investigation, a source in the Transport Ministry told Reuters.
An online tool that shows the position of different aircraft in flight, FlightRadar, confirms that there are no flights in the air at the moment near the airport. All aircraft are on the ground.
Breaking: Madrid Barajas airport has suspended all departures/arrivals following a possible drone sighting. #aviation pic.twitter.com/RwIbnQZKnC
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) February 3, 2020
Notificación de posibles drones en las inmediaciones de la aproximación a #Madrid Barajas. Demoras y esperas por seguridad. #SafetyFirst pic.twitter.com/41pPhkuhxH
— Controladores Aéreos 🇪🇸 (@controladores) February 3, 2020
Last July, the Spanish Civil Guard located a drone device in a space prohibited for the flight of these aircraft, according to Vozpopuli. The owner of that drone received a fine for his actions.
In August of last year, a GL6000 jet was cruising at 200 mph, 1,200 feet (365 metres) above Luton Airport on its way from Nice when it almost collided with an unmanned aerial vehicle. The drone, whose owner was not identified, was allegedly flying four times higher than usually allowed, and just 22 km west of the airport.
