United States seeking permission to fly surveillance aircraft through Czech airspace

The U.S. is seeking permission from the Czech government to fly Global Hawk surveillance drones through Czech airspace, the radio.cz reports.

The pilotless aircraft is the largest of its kind in the U.S. fleet and is reportedly to help monitor areas along the Russian border.

The U.S. Embassy in Prague declined to comment but the news was confirmed by the spokesman for the Transport Ministry, says the daily.

Teams from the Interior, Defence, and Transport Ministries have met to discuss ways of accommodating the U.S. plans but suggests getting to yes won’t be easy, saying Czech and European legislation do not deal with long-distance operation of unmanned aircraft.