UK Stiffens Law on Laser Attacks

A new Article 222 of UK Air Navigation Order 2009 makes it illegal “to shine any light at any aircraft in flight so as to dazzle or distract the pilot of the aircraft.” The country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) hopes the article, coupled with new technology used by police air support units, will increase conviction rates. The CAA introduced the law when the number of laser incidents rose dramatically from 29 incidents in 2007 to 737 last year. Nineteen airports were listed last year as “laser incident hot spots” by the authority. Previous offenders were charged under a law that lacked specific wording about laser attacks. Only about a dozen incidents have been successfully prosecuted.