After last year's drone incident, Riga Airport has significantly strengthened its protection against unwanted drones — laws have been changed, sensors, frequency jammers, and radars have been purchased, and the detection of violators has become more effective, said the director of the Civil Aviation Agency, Maris Gorodtsov, in the program "900 Seconds" (TV3).
He emphasized that the sky over Latvia is becoming safer; however, the risks associated with drones have become part of the new reality, reports TV3.
Despite geopolitical upheavals and new security threats, the level of flight safety, according to experts, remains high.
"The level of flight safety has remained unchanged for many years despite the increase in the number of flights. This means the sky is becoming safer," noted Gorodtsov in the program.
At the same time, he acknowledged that navigation interference has become a daily occurrence in the Baltic region. "Navigation interference effectively remains at the level of previous years. This has become the new norm in the Baltic region," he said.
Speaking about protection against unwanted drones on airport territory, Gorodtsov noted that after the incident in January last year, both the regulatory framework and technical readiness have been significantly improved.
"Since the January incident last year, at least four laws have been changed to help critical infrastructure facilities be prepared for such incidents," he explained.
According to him, an important change is that the right to respond to threats from drones now lies not only with the National Armed Forces but also with the police and the security services of specific facilities.
In addition, the airport's technical equipment has been strengthened at three levels.
"Additional sensors have been purchased and deployed around the airport, there are portable frequency jammers, an additional radar has been installed, and there will also be a powerful stationary frequency jammer according to the plan," Gorodtsov said.
He emphasized that Riga Airport is currently well-prepared to detect and prevent such risks. Last year, the Civil Aviation Agency received 125 administrative cases, and the police across the country recorded more than 700 incidents — more than twice as many as the previous year.
According to Gorodtsov, this is partly related to the increase in the number of drone operators — there are already more than 20,000 registered drone pilots in Latvia, but mainly it indicates an improvement in the ability to detect violations.
Assessing the discipline of drone pilots, he noted a cautiously positive trend.
"I would say it is improving. The overall level of knowledge is increasing, and the number of pilots who pass tests and exams is growing," Gorodtsov said.
Attempts to deliberately circumvent the system remain rare. "Cases where people intentionally try to test the system can be counted on one or two hands. These are extremely rare cases," emphasized the head of the Civil Aviation Agency.
He added that most violations occur due to ignorance or misconceptions, rather than as a result of deliberate malice.
