00:01I mean huge the consequences people need to realize that if they are prosecuted and found
00:07guilty of endangering any kind of aircraft including air ambulance helicopters you can go
00:13to prison and that is a fact. Air ambulance crews and aviation officials are raising fresh concerns
00:18about drone activity near emergency helicopter operations. They say a growing number of flights
00:24responding to serious incidents are being disrupted as pilots call for greater awareness
00:29and stricter adherence to safety rules. The warning comes as organizations across the sector
00:35highlight how quickly a routine drone flight can interfere with time-critical medical missions
00:40that operate in all parts of the UK. So any drone sighting near where an air ambulance wants to
00:46operate means the air ambulance won't, it can't operate. The rules they fly under means that if
00:52they see a drone in the area they can't actually land and bring that patient care or if they're
00:58already on the ground sometimes they see a drone over the top from where they want to take off to
01:04go back to a hospital perhaps and again they can't take off if the drone is there so we need
01:10drone users
01:11to stay away from emergency situations and if they see a helicopter land keep the drone on the ground
01:17until that helicopter's gone. There are 21 air ambulance charities operating across the UK collectively
01:24carrying out around 134 emergency missions every day. These can range from serious road collisions
01:31to urgent medical call-outs where rapid response is essential. Pilots say one of the key challenges
01:38is visibility. Helicopters used for emergency response do not carry systems that can reliably detect drones in the air.
01:45That means crews may have little or no warning if a drone enters the same airspace.
01:51Regulations already require drone users to avoid flying near or over emergency scenes
01:56unless specifically authorised by emergency services. The Civil Aviation Authority says breaking these rules
02:03can put aircraft and people on the ground at risk.
02:06Yeah so in the future we're hoping we have a system where everything in the air can see each other
02:11and know where it is and keep out of its way. That just doesn't happen at the moment.
02:16So the only way pilots can see drones keep out of their way and interact with each other is using
02:23their eyes.
02:23That is it. They have no other way of doing it. So unless they can actually see a drone
02:28and bear in mind lots of these drones are quite small that people fly, the chances of them seeing it
02:33is quite small.
02:35So really you know although people have equal access to airspace the onus is really on the drone user to
02:41keep out of the way
02:42because helicopters are noisy, they're big, you can hear them, you know they're coming, take action.
02:49You know the drone pilot is unlikely to see your drone.
02:53If they do then obviously you know they're not going to be able to enter where they need to.
02:57New figures suggest drone-related disruption to air ambulance flights reached its highest level in 2025
03:04with nine incidents recorded and three cases where missions were delayed.
03:10Aviation bodies and air ambulance services say even brief interference can have knock-on effects for patient care
03:16particularly where minutes matter.
03:19They are now jointly urging drone operators to follow the rules carefully
03:23and avoid filming or approaching emergency scenes.
03:26The Civil Aviation Authority has also been working with air ambulance organisations
03:31to promote updated safety guidance aimed at hobby users and commercial pilots alike
03:36as part of wider efforts to reduce risk in shared airspace.
03:40Absolutely there are rules and we get you know it's for lots of people this is fun flying
03:46lots of people use drones for businesses as well.
03:48We actually want people to use drones.
03:50We have a huge work stream to actually allow drones to do more and more in the UK
03:56but they must be flown safely.
03:58So there are a set of rules.
03:59Primarily we ask people to come to our website
04:02caa.co.uk forward slash drones
04:05and actually do our flyer ID test which is free.
04:09It's all online.
04:11It's a legal requirement if you're flying most drones over 100 grams
04:15which is really small.
04:16So pretty much any drone you're flying outside you need to do
04:19and that helps you to understand the rules and what you need to do.
04:24We haven't had anybody go to prison yet.
04:27It's possible.
04:28We have had people in the UK be prosecuted and get big fines
04:33and all of their drones destroyed.
04:35It has happened.
04:36Unfortunately it may well happen again in the future.
04:39Officials say the priority is preventing avoidable disruption
04:43to emergency flights that often operate under time pressure
04:46and in complex conditions.
04:48They warn that while drone use continues to grow across the UK
04:52so too does the responsibility on users
04:54to understand where and when it is safe to fly.
04:58Looking ahead aviation bodies say they will continue reviewing safety data
05:02and reinforcing guidance
05:04as air ambulance crews stress
05:06that even small breaches of the rules
05:08can have serious consequences for emergency response times.
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