Laser Attacks Pose ‘Real Threat’ to Aviation Safety: British Pilots’ Association

The number of laser attacks on aircraft is still “dangerously high,” although incidents are down slightly from 2015, said the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA).

BALPA was commenting on data released this week from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which revealed there were 1,258 laser attacks on aircraft reported in 2016.

At more than three incidents a day on average, “this is still a real threat to aviation safety,” the pilots’ association said.

Heathrow remains the airport experiencing the highest level of attacks at 151 incidents – up from 121 in 2015, BALPA said, noting that Birmingham and Manchester airports also continued to experience high numbers of attacks, and incidents at Glasgow have almost doubled from 2015.

“Shining a laser at aircraft is incredibly dangerous and a real threat to flight safety,” said Steve Landells, BALPA flight safety specialist, in a statement. “The power of these devices is increasing and we’re concerned that, if left to escalate without significant intervention, we could see a serious incident happen in the near future.”

Although last year’s incidents were down from 2015 — possibly the result of BALPA’s campaigning — Landells said that pilots are “concerned that at more than three reports a day this figure is still dangerously high.”

“We’re also concerned that under-reporting of incidents could mean that we don’t have a true idea of the scale of the problem,” he added.

“We’ve been campaigning for tougher punishments for offenders for many years and so are encouraged by the recognition of this problem in the new Vehicle Technology and Aviation bill, which proposes to increase the powers of the courts to allow them to impose prison sentences on those putting lives at risk by shining a laser at an aircraft,” Landells emphasized.

“BALPA wants to see these people stopped before they commit this reckless act and we hope that the bill will give police and authorities the powers to ensure they don’t happen in the first place.”

The CAA’s annual data about laser incidents in the UK can be viewed on its website.