Drone scare at Dublin Airport causes confusion, temporarily grounds flights

A drone sighting on the airfield at Dublin Airport caused confusion and grounded all flights for around 15 minutes just before midday.

Read more: Government extends 'no-fly zones' around airport runways after drone chaos

Ireland’s biggest international airport said it would keep passengers updated on the situation.

Flight operations have now resumed @DublinAirport following an earlier drone sighting. We apologise for any inconvenience. The safety and security of passengers is always our key priority.

— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) February 21, 2019

“The safety and security of customers is our key priority at all times,” it added in a tweet.

Minutes earlier it took the decision to suspend flights after confirming a drone sighting over the airfield.

For safety reasons we are temporarily suspending flight operations @DublinAirport due the confirmed sighting of a drone over the airfield. Passengers should contact their airline's website for flight updates. We will post updates here when they become available.

— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) February 21, 2019

Drone disruption has become a growing cause for concern among airports, with an incident just before Christmas at Gatwick bringing flights to a standstill.

Read more: Gatwick drone chaos costs Easyjet £15m

Easyjet later admitted the issue had cost it £15m as it was forced to cancel 400 flights.