No-fly zones for drones in Madrid

BETWEEN June 7 and 17 the authorities registered 117 illegal drones flying over key sites in Madrid.

The Ministry of the Interior has now taken steps to protect Spain’s principal institutions with a system capable of detecting, following and, if necessary, neutralising unauthorised Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The Ministry of the Interior has allocated €290,000 for the system, named Global, which it is gradually installing where most needed.

Following the last Cabinet meeting the government spokeswoman and acting Education minister, Isabel Celaa, justified the move on the grounds of public and institutional safety.

Celaa cited Gatwick Airport – the second most important in the UK – where 240 flights were grounded last year owing to deliberate flights by rogue drones.

Enrique Belda, the Interior Ministry’s assistant director for Information and Communications Security, explained that it will now be possible to detect unauthorised UAVs flight in the four key sites.

The principal objective is to reduce as far as possible the risks attached to drones which are capable of inflicting “brutal results” at very little cost.