Incheon Airport 9.3km Radius Drone Flight Restricted Zone... Criminal and Civil Liability for Illegal Drones Enforced

Current Status of Drone Flight Prohibition Zones at Incheon Airport

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyewon] Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 15th that it will strengthen its response to illegal drones by holding individuals legally accountable, including civil and criminal liability, depending on the severity, if drones are operated without permission in drone flight restricted zones, threatening the safe operation of aircraft.

The area within a 9.3 km radius of Incheon Airport is designated as a drone flight restricted zone. Operating drones in the restricted zone without prior approval from the relevant regional aviation office is subject to a fine or penalty of up to 2 million KRW under the Aviation Safety Act.

Incheon Airport Corporation emphasized that illegal drone activities in the flight restricted zone are serious matters that can cause major aircraft accidents and casualties, urging special caution.

On November 15th last year, around 1 p.m., an illegal drone appeared at the summit of Oseongsan near the airport (2.7 km radius from the airport), causing some aircraft scheduled to land at Incheon Airport to divert to Gimpo Airport, resulting in delays in takeoff and landing.

Airport security personnel, police, and military forces immediately dispatched to search for the illegal drone operator, and the situation took about four hours to resolve. The regional aviation office imposed a penalty for violating the Aviation Safety Act on the operator caught at the scene. Separately from the penalty, Incheon Airport Corporation plans to file a civil damage claim and a criminal complaint for obstruction of business, considering the severity of the incident, which occurred very close to the airport (2.7 km) and lasted for a long time (about 40 minutes), threatening the safety of aircraft and passengers.

With the normalization of aircraft operations following the end of COVID-19, drone flights are expected to increasingly impact airport operations by threatening aircraft safety and causing economic losses. Therefore, Incheon Airport Corporation plans to continue to strictly respond to illegal drones. Overseas, including the United States and Singapore, strong measures are taken against unauthorized illegal drone flights near airports, with fines up to 280 million KRW. Incheon Airport Corporation established the first domestic civilian airport 'Drone Detection System' in September last year and detected over 80 cases of illegal drone flights by February this year.

Kim Kyungwook, President of Incheon Airport Corporation, said, "The area within a 9.3 km radius of Incheon Airport is designated as a drone flight restricted zone," adding, "Unauthorized drone flights interfere with the safe operation of aircraft, so we ask that drone flights near the airport be prohibited."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.