A new report from think tank Parliament Street has revealed that 38% of the British public want drones banned in the UK.
The Drones for You report comes at a time when UK-based budget airline EasyJet said that the disruption caused by drones at Gatwick Airport last month had cost it £15m.
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A week before Christmas, Gatwick Airport cancelled 800 flights due to drone sightings, affecting 120,000 passengers in three days.
The report noted that this incident raised questions on the readiness of the security forces in addressing such incidents.
Furthermore, past data shows that drones posed a threat to the passenger aircraft flying around Gatwick at least five times in four years.
The report includes feedback from 2,000 members in the UK about their attitudes towards the use of drones and related security issues.
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By GlobalDataIndependent polling company Censuswide was commissioned to conduct the polling this month.
According to the report, 83% of the public is in favour of a mandatory licence for the drone users, which is similar to the existing rules that aim to regulate the use of firearms.
The report also found that 83% of the respondents believe that more cyberskills are required to address the threat from drones, while 75% think that drones pose a major risk to national security.
Currently, 31 out of 45 of the UK’s police force have fielded drones to conduct missions that range from search-and-rescue to managing a hostage situation, as well as detecting misuse of other drones.
The report recommended policy considerations such as enforcing a licence law on drones, planning ahead and measures to prevent disruption and security issues and deployment of more technical experts to help handle crises.
