Brit holidaymakers travelling from a major airport could face major delays if RAF plans to launch military drones from a nearby base go ahead, bosses have warned.
The RAF has announced plans to launch US-made drones from RAF Fairford, its Gloucestershire base, “two to three times per week”, a move airport chiefs have said could have disastrous consequences for UK flights. The base will soon start flying RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones, but to do so, it must sever a flight path used by Birmingham Airport.
The path is used by multiple airlines to carry thousands of people to and from the airport several times a week, and, without it, Birmingham bosses say flights could be extended by hundreds of miles. Managers have written to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) which coordinates UK airspace, with airline representatives following suit in outlining their own fears.
Amazon slashes price of Silentnight electric blanket that costs ’10p to run all night’
Birmingham Airport bosses have warned the drone flights could massively impact their flights
(
Image:
PA)
Letters seen by the Daily Telegraph outline fears from senior airport managers that blocking the airport flight path could also delay flights for up to 20 minutes. Joining the group in highlighting concerns, Ryanair representatives added the USAD plans could delay up to 2,800 passengers.
Routing around the blocked out flight path would also affect up to 15 flights, with the additional time spent in the air wasting up to nine tonnes of fuel and causing 34 tonnes of extra CO2 emissions. Jet2 has also voiced concerns about its own flights, saying its journeys from Portugal, Spain and the Canary Islands could face similar 20-minute delays as planes fly an additional 145 miles.
In addition to the delays, Jet2 warned the new arrangements could also prove costly for customers, who may have to help foot the bill for the additional roughly £901 incurred by the new flight path. Representatives for both Birmingham Airport and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) have said discussions are ongoing, and that both parties are hoping to find an acceptable solution that avoids mass disruption.
Representatives for the airport said they were seeking a mutually beneficial agreement
(
Image:
Darren Quinton/Birmingham Live)
The Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: “We continue discussions with the relevant parties and remain hopeful of a mutually acceptable solution.” And the the MoD official added: “No final decisions have been taken and we are working to minimise any potential impact to other airspace users.”
The pushback follows dramatic drone sightings over US bases on British soil at the end of 2024, with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) spotted hovering at RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall and RAF Feltwell. They appeared at the bases in Suffolk and Norfolk over several days in December last year.
Defence sources told the Daily Mail the swarms appeared “coordinated”, with former British military intelligence Colonel Philip Ingram saying the sightings had “all the hallmarks” of an operation launched by the Russian GRU spy agency.