Over the past weeks, Europe has faced a wave of unidentified drone sightings near airports and military installations, causing temporary airspace closures and heightened security alerts. These incidents, described by Danish authorities as “hybrid attacks”, underline the growing importance of responsible drone reporting and public awareness.

Since then, our mailbox at SkeyDrone has been filling up with messages from concerned citizens across Belgium who have seen drones and are unsure what to do. It’s a valid concern. While some drone pilots may be clueless, careless or even criminal, drones are increasingly being used for legitimate, valuable purposes. Think about infrastructure inspection, emergency response, aerial photography, medical sample delivery and more. To keep it all safe and secure, both on the ground and in the air, these operations are strictly regulated. It’s essential that every drone pilot follows the rules.

So, what should you do if you encounter a drone?

1. Stay Calm and Assess the Situation

If you see a drone, don’t panic. Definitely not every drone in the air is flying illegally. Many drone operators are licensed and fly according to the drone regulations. On top of that, the vast majority of unauthorised flights are carried out by pilots who are simply unaware of the rules and have no criminal intent.

In many parts of the Belgian airspace, restrictions for drone flights apply since so-called geozones are active there, for instance above airports, military bases, nuclear plants, and prisons. You can find an overview of all geozones and their access conditions on map.droneguide.be.
In most geozones, drone pilots must obtain a flight authorisation from the geozone manager before taking off. For example, in all military geozones (red on the map) and in the geozones associated to the six major civil airports in Belgium (blue on the map), drone operators must get their flight authorisation via the Drones & Aerial Activities platform from skeyes, powered by SkeyDrone.

So when a drone is observed in a geozone, the geozone manager can quickly verify whether this specific flight was authorised or not.

2. How SkeyDrone Helps

To ensure all drone pilots are flying by the rules, geozone managers can go a step further and make use of a drone detection system. By combining detection data with their own flight authorisation records, they can instantly determine wither a flight is friendly or not.

SkeyDrone’s drone detection system is active around the major airports and several other strategic locations in Belgium. Our system automatically picks up drones flying in these geozones and informs the geozone manager about the type of drone, its serial number, whether that flight was authorised and the location of the pilot. When necessary, the police can then be dispatched to the pilot’s location to intervene. For example, during last summer’s Tomorrowland festival in Boom, our system helped authorities to intercept and confiscate 14 illegal drones.

3. How to Report a Drone

If you’re concerned about a drone, call your local police on 101 and provide as much detail as possible:

• Time and location of the sighting
• Estimated height and direction of the flight
• Description of the drone (colour, size, number of rotors, lights)
• Behaviour (hovering, circling, flying toward sensitive areas)

Photos or videos can help, but only if you can capture them safely.

4. What NOT to do

Never try to approach, jam, or shoot down a drone yourself. These actions are dangerous, illegal, and may cause serious accidents. Only the police or military are authorised to neutralise a drone.

Our Mission at SkeyDrone

At SkeyDrone, we’re committed to creating a safe and secure airspace for all responsible drone pilots. Whether it’s protecting sensitive zones or enabling innovative drone applications, we’re here to help.
Want to know more about how we keep Belgian airspace safe? Discover our drone detection solution here.