Eurocontrol has raised concerns over the growing number of laser attacks on aircraft cockpits, and is calling for a "harmonised approach" to tackle the threat.
There were 30 reported laser instances in the UK in 2007 and there had been about 1,600 instances by September 2011, said Eurocontrol.
It added that in 2009 there were 1,048 reported laser incidents in European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) states, and this had risen to 4,266 in 2010.
While standards to regulate legitimate uses of lasers were previously developed by ICAO, Eurocontrol believes that "laser interference tactics have changed and a harmonised, multidisciplinary and proactive approach is needed to counter this threat".
Eurocontrol is calling for "timely and effective" procedures for dealing with laser interference, adding that advances in nanotechnology filters "might prove helpful in the future".
Eurocontrol would like to see the European Union develop "stringent regulation on the production, distribution, purchase, carriage and use of lasers".
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
