An Aer Lingus flight on approach to Dublin Airport on Saturday evening encountered a suspected drone that passed about 20 metres from the aircraft, prompting an alert to air traffic control and a police investigation. The jet was descending over Dublin Bay near Howth at about 3,200 feet when the crew reported a red object off the aircraft’s port side, while controllers warned another aircraft on the same track and rerouted it.
AirNav Ireland passed the sighting to gardaí and other relevant authorities, with a Garda investigation now under way. Aer Lingus is aware of the report. Four later aircraft used the same route without further incident, according to the controller transcript cited by RTÉ.
The event is the second suspected drone sighting reported by a pilot approaching Dublin in less than two weeks. Aviation sources indicated that, if the object was a drone, its proximity to a descending airliner would present a significant hazard, particularly as the reported altitude was well above Ireland’s usual 400-foot drone operating limit.