A pilot near Dublin Airport has reported a large ‘unidentified black drone’ off the coast of Ireland.
The incident occurred after several UK airports suffered huge disruptions and saw over 1,000 flights grounded due to huge air traffic control issues.
While airports here, such as Dublin Airport, are operating on a full schedule after a ‘challenging day’ yesterday, there was an incident that raised eyebrows after a drone was spotted near Dublin Airport.
An Aer Lingus regional flight from Cornwall to Dublin witnessed an unidentified drone flying off the coast of Co Wicklow at 5.20pm on Tuesday (September 8).
The drone was operating at around 6,000ft in the air, and was approximately 3km to the left of the Aer Lingus flight.
AirNav Ireland, which manages Irish airspace, confirmed that an investigation into the incident has been opened.
‘In line with our normal safety procedures, a safety report was filed and the sighting was reported to An Garda Síochána,’ a statement from AirNav said. ‘As this matter is now with the relevant authorities, we have no further comment at this time.’
Technical issues plagued airports in the UK on Tuesday, which saw flights grounded in both Heathrow and Gatwick in London. Manchester Airport also warned of potential delays, while Edinburgh Airport aired similar warnings.
The UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) took to social media to warn of a technical fault which saw the airports descend into chaos, saying: ‘We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures. Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can.’
⚠️ INCIDENT — Drone report:
In the last while, an Aer Lingus regional flight reported a ‘Large black drone’ at 6,000 feet to Dublin ATC, who noted that the aircraft was not on their radars.
From the pilots description, it appears the drone was off the coast near bray/greystones… pic.twitter.com/h9W35ythcU
— Shauns_Aviation🇮🇪✈️ (@Shauns_Aviation) September 8, 2026
‘We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airlines on the status of their flight. We will provide updates on nats.aero.’
