POLICE Scotland has warned that no one is allowed to fly a drone over Edinburgh's official Hogmanay celebrations, it has warned.
Chief Superintendent Kenny Macdonald, event commander for the capital's three-day Hogmanay events, said that anyone flying a drone over the city centre would be in breach of a no-fly zone, which is in force over the New Year, and would be committing an offence.
He noted that this is not a new crackdown on drones in reaction to the turmoil at Gatwick Airport last week, where many flights were cancelled due to reports of drones being flown over the runway.
The spectacular fireworks and torchlight processions of the New Year celebrations could be colourful imagery for a drone camera, but Police Scotland has lowered a two-mile no-fly zone on the capital during the festival.
Chief Superindendent Macdonald said: "They are not allowed.
"This is not something we have introduced just on the back of Gatwick, for many years it has been the case that there is a 'no-fly zone' roundabout the Torchlight [procession] and the Hogmanay street party event.
"That is due to public safety, it would be highly irresponsible for someone to fly a drone above a crowded place, and in fact anyone who does so would be committing an offence, it would be a breach of an aviation act."
Police Scotland said the air restrictions are within a two mile radius of the junction between East Market Street and Jeffrey Street in the capital, a radius which touches Figgat Park in Portobello to the east, Braid Hills to the south, Edinburgh Zoo to the west, and the Forth coastline to the north.
This will be in operation between 3pm and 11pm on Sunday, 30 December, and then between 2pm on 31 December and 3am on 1 January.
The police added in a statement: "Owners and operators of drones, as well as other aircraft, are strictly prohibited from entering these areas during the specified times in compliance with the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Edinburgh) Regulations 2018."
The celebrations, the organisers said, could involve 160,000 people over three days, with 75,000 people in the Street Party celebrations alone.
The events, organised by Underbelly, also known as a major Fringe producer, will begin with the Torchlight Procession, which will move down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Park.
The weather for the celebrations is expected to be mild.
Gregory Wolverson, the Met Office Advisor said: "The weather for this year’s Hogmanay celebrations is expected to be fairly settled; with it remaining mild for the time of year and mostly dry, although breezy at times.
"Sunday looks to be a nice evening for the Torchlight Procession; with conditions staying mild, fairly breezy and perhaps just a few spots of drizzle.
"Hogmanay itself is also likely to be mostly dry and mild for the time of year, but remember to bring some warm layers if you are outside all evening.
It should then be a nice brisk start to the new year with bright skies and turning a little cooler; perfect conditions for the Loony Dookers.".
Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam, directors of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay said: "This year’s Edinburgh’s Hogmanay has a fantastic line-up of events for young and old under the banner We Love You, a celebration of Scotland’s long-standing cultural ties with Europe.
"From our Concert in the Gardens headliner Franz Ferdinand to Carlos Nunez at the McEwan Hall, Massaoke at Bairns Afore to Gerry Cinnamon and Snap! at the Street Party, and the Loony Dook to our six writers creating love letters to Europe in Message from the Skies across the city, the programme is diverse, exciting and fresh."
Chief Superintendent MacDonald added: “Police Scotland is committed to ensuring that the public have an enjoyable evening this Hogmanay but also stay safe.
“We urge members of the public to plan their evening in advance and know how they are going to get into the city centre and home again.
"Safety is a top priority for Police Scotland and we ask revellers to act responsibly and not let their enjoyment of the evening be ruined by over-consumption of alcohol."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel