Amsterdammer caught flying drone near Schiphol

A 19-year-old Amsterdam resident was arrested near Schiphol on Saturday afternoon for flying a drone in the vicinity of the airport, the police said in a statement.

The young man was arrested by the Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that works as a branch of a military and is responsible for airport security. A witness reported seeing a drone flying near the airport's flight path.

The drone and footage it recorded were both confiscated. The man was charged with flying an unmanned aircraft in controlled airspace. According to the police, the Public Prosecutor will decide what punishment to give him.

Flying a drone in controlled air space is illegal in the Netherlands, because it puts air traffic at risk.