Queen’s cortege: 8 charged over drone f lights

EIGHT people have been charged with illegally operating drones during the high-security operation that saw the Queen’s coffin carried through Scotland.

Planes and drones were banned from flying below a certain altitude over parts of Edinburgh between September 11 and 13.

The ban was enforced as the coffin was transported from Balmoral Castle to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and then on to St Giles’s Cathedral before being flown from Edinburgh Airport to England.

Similar rules were in place in London for the Queen’s cortege and funeral.

Across the UK, 80 drone flights were investigated by police in the days following the Queen’s death, with four pilots facing prosecution south of the Border. Scotland Yard deputy assistant commissioner Matt Twist said most operators were ‘hobbyists making innocent mistakes’ but some were arrested based on their intentions. None of those charged in Scotland was arrested.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the aircraft ban included personal jets, small balloons, kites and parachutes.

However, it has now emerged that a handful of drone operators in Scotland failed to abide by the regulations.

Police Scotland said eight people were charged for breaches of Air Navigation Orders in relation to drones. The offences are understood to have happened in and around Edinburgh.

Aircraft were not permitted to fly below 6,000 feet above the Operation London Bridge route between Balmoral Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

A CAA spokesman said the ban created a ‘protective blanket’ over the restricted areas, but did not affect commercial flights which operated above the altitude limits.

The threat of a drone attack is said to be a major concern for counter-terror police and the intelligence agencies. It is believed anti-drone devices were deployed on roofs around Westminster to block signals between operators and their aircraft during events around the Queen’s funeral.