The Grand National racecourse at Aintree will become a drone no-go zone from Thursday – to foil gamblers seeking a live betting boost, protestors probing for security weaknesses and drug dealers. The restricted airspace during the three-day meeting is specifically for drones, and is mainly to target gamblers wanting to place large ‘in-play’ bets and hoping to get quicker live feed than those supplied by official broadcasters.
But it also boosts Merseyside Police’s ability to combat animal rights protestors looking to repeat their 2023 disruption to the famous race – and dealers seeking to fly drugs in and avoid racegoers security searches. Chief Inspector Iain Wyke, Grand National Festival Event Commander, said: “As always, our policing plans for the Grand National Festival are extensive and take into consideration land, sea and air.
“Specialist resources, made up of Merseyside Police officers and officers from regional and national teams, including air support, will be in place for the duration of the event.
“We are also working with partners including the local authority, other emergency services, and businesses in the community to ensure this is a safe and secure event.”
The temporary airspace restriction will be in place between 7am tomorrow, Thursday 3 April, and 7pm on Saturday 5 April.
That means it will be an offence for any unmanned aircraft to fly below 2,000 ft above sea level in the designated area without the explicit permission of Merseyside Police.
The force said: “Drone users flying inside the Restricted Airspace that have not been granted permission will be committing an offence and could be prosecuted as well as having their equipment seized and confiscated.
“The airspace restrictions will have an impact on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), which refers to drones and their users – this does not affect commercial flights.”
Last year at the Grand National Festival’s Ladies Day Friday, three drones were seized by officers for breaching the airspace restrictions.
Merseyside Police said at the time they became aware of drones being used on Thursday as well as Friday, and in response the operators were found and their equipment seized.
After the drones were seized Chief Inspector Iain Wyke, running the police’s event management, said: “This incident demonstrated the excellent detection work by officers who were able to swiftly identify the operators and seize the equipment.
“Airspace restrictions will remain in place for the duration of the event, and if we suspect a drone is being flown in the restricted area we will take action.
“If you commit an offence and fly a drone within the restricted area without permission your equipment may be seized, and you may render yourself liable to prosecution.”
Full details of the restrictions are available on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) website. Drone pilots are also encouraged to check other sources of information such as NOTAM Info and Drone Safety Map, before flying.
