Drone entered Ben Gurion Airport airspace, causing flight suspensions

For the second time in less than a week, a civilian drone entered the Ben Gurion Airport airspace today, Tuesday, leading to a local freeze for several minutes. The drone operator was located within less than an hour, and an inquiry revealed that he was operating the device to film a promotional video for a construction company.

The incident began at 11:40, when an employee in the Ben Gurion Airport control room noticed a drone approaching the airport's airspace. Minutes later, the drone was identified as it entered the airport's municipal area.

Following the intrusion, the airport's control, operational, and security personnel were activated, and Ben Gurion Airport police officers were summoned to locate the operator. Upon its entry into the municipal area, a local freeze was implemented that lasted several minutes.

During the incident, airport employees tracked the drone's movement using monitoring systems and field observations, allowing them to locate the area from which it was operated and direct police forces to it. The drone was not shot down as it entered and exited the airspace, but it did cause a brief suspension of takeoffs and landings.

Within less than an hour of the initial identification, the operator was located. An inquiry confirmed there was no security objective behind the flight, but rather the filming of a promotional video.

The Israel Airports Authority warned following the incident that flying drones without permission in the vicinity of Ben Gurion Airport endangers aviation safety, emphasizing that flying in restricted airspace without required permits is a violation of the law. This incident follows another drone intrusion that occurred last Wednesday.