OSLO, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is pondering whether to sue drone pilots for compensation as their unmanned aerial vehicles often prevent normal air traffic in Norway, public broadcaster NRK reported Thursday.
"This happens too often and creates major problems for our passengers and creates financial costs for us," said Knut Morten Johansen, SAS' head of media relations in Norway.
"We have responsibility towards the passengers, and canceled and delayed flights can have major consequences for them," he said.
On Wednesday two drones created major problems for incoming flights to Oslo.
One of them belonged to a real estate agent and took pictures of a house. Because of this, several flights had to be redirected to other airports and many passengers were stuck at the Oslo airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Norway has emphasized the seriousness of such events when drones come into conflict with aircraft.
Last year, the aviation agency registered twelve cases where drones entered the airspace above Norwegian airports. Three times this led to closed airports.
"A collision between aircraft and drone can result in serious accidents and loss of human life. In such cases, the drone operator is liable to imprisonment and will be responsible for damages of many million kroner," said Bente Heggedal, Head of Section for Unmanned Aviation in Civil Aviation Authority.
