The police in the Northern Netherlands removed a pirate transmitter from the air in the town of Fluitenberg in Drenthe, because it was interfering with communication around Lelystad Airport. The equipment found in a radio tower also affected C2000, the network with which the police, ambulance and fire brigade communicate.
Pilots heard the disturbance and reported it to air traffic control, says a spokesperson for Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL). Nothing has been heard by the staff on the tower and air traffic has not been endangered, she says.
According to a spokesperson for the Telecom Agency, ether pirates are taken from the air almost every day. According to him, if there is a disturbance with air traffic, it is often denied by ether pirates and their fans. He therefore calls it important to mention that pirate transmitters do cause interference.
The police are investigating some persons who have come up in the investigation, but have not yet identified any suspects.
It is unclear how often the work of ether pirates leads to aviation communication failures. The Telecom Agency, the LVNL and the police were unable to answer that question directly on Friday afternoon.
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