The threat of arrest and prosecution is a deterrent when it comes to preventing drone disruptions at airports, but a range of technological solutions are also used.
Dublin Airport has a drone detection system in place that gives early warning of illegal drone activity.
Information gathered by this system is used to pursue enforcement and prosecutions.
Some drones have built-in systems that will prevent the device from reaching certain heights when it is in the vicinity of an airport.
There are systems that can track drone operators in real time and alert the authorities to their location.
There are also targeted signal-blockers that can force drones to fall from the sky.
Some of these systems can be switched off or bypassed by drone users, who are intent on breaking the rules and not all of these solutions may be appropriate for airports due to safety risks.
Dublin Airport operator daa said there is a specific piece of anti-drone technology it would like to use, but it would have to involve the Department of Defence or gardaí.
"A drone effector allows you take control of a drone in the sky," said Kenny Jacobs, Chief Executive of daa.
"You can send it back where it came from and the gardaí can apprehend someone who was illegally operating a drone near an airfield or you can land the drone in a predetermined safe area.
"That's the technology that exists in London and is used at Gatwick and Heathrow," Mr Jacobs said.
Julie Garland is the founder and CEO of Avtrain, a leading drone training and certification body.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
"The most popular drones in Ireland are DJI aircraft and DJI itself has produced an aeroscope which allows something like an airport authority to actually track the controller," Ms Garland said.
However, like most technologies, there can be ways around the systems.
"Most of these signal blockers and geo-fencing systems rely on a GPS signal, so if you are flying manually, that could be used to possibly avoid these systems," Ms Garland said.
"There are more elaborate signal-blockers available that could make a drone physically fall from the sky but in an airport, it may not be an option due to safety," she added.
Read more: Government looking at mechanisms to 'take down drones'
Ms Garland believes that existing anti-drone technology should be enough to prevent airport incidents involving people who genuinely make a mistake with their drones.
"But if we are dealing with people with nefarious intentions, we need to be not just talking to the Department of Justice about what the offences will be, but also talking to the Department of Defence about what military-grade solutions are available," she said.
It may sound extreme to be talking out 'military-grade' equipment at an airport, but when public safety is at risk, the Government says it will be exploring all options.
Delays of a few hours are frustrating for passengers and expensive for airlines, but a mid-air collision between a drone and an aircraft could have devastating consequences.
"We're going to do everything to stop what is a real risk and a real danger to Irish people," Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said today.
