This paper aims to perform a full study on UAV (drone) intrusions in TMA, their cause and consequences, as well as developing a method to mitigate their negative effects on commercial aviation. Drone sightings around airports have become very common in the past recent years, and have already caused important problems to ATC, the most popular, the Gatwick chaos. With limited existing technology to counteract this, alternative methods have to be found to try and minimise the impact a drone can have in the airport’s operation.

The solution exposed in this study, taking Stockholm-Arlanda Airport as an example, is based on a combination of a fast detection of the drone, rapid closure of the necessary airspace, and effective aircraft rerouting. With passive methods already in the market, such as radars and sensors, a drone could be quickly spotted, even tracked, when entering a No-Flight Zone. Then, with a previously divided airspace chart, the cell that contained the drone would be closed to aircraft, as well as all the adjacent ones. Next, an optimised rerouting of the aircraft, from the entry-points to the interception of the runway Instrument Landing System (ILS) would be drawn.

Results show that, by implementing this procedure, the impact of a drone intrusion in an airport would be reduced considerably. Moreover, the study also identifies which zones would lead to airport closure and which pose a potential risk in the approach phase. This is the airspace where more attention should be paid, and more surveillance guaranteed. However, results also reveal that the method could still be polished, as still too much airspace is being closed, much more than needed. These future enhancements could come in the form of a thinner grid division or a transitory closed airspace.

The author hopes that after going through this paper, the reader understands the need of an alternative method to mitigate drone intrusions in TMA, and how the procedure aforementioned could be a feasible remedy to this.