Airspace restrictions ahead of President Macron’s Windsor visit

Airspace over and around Windsor will be restricted ahead of a state visit by French president Emmanuel Macron next week.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will host the president and his wife Brigitte Macron at Windsor Castle from Tuesday.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) said it is working to ensure the state visit “passes safely with minimal disruption to the local community”.

On Monday and Tuesday, airspace will be restricted for aircrafts and drones over and around Windsor, except for emergencies, TVP said.

The last state visit to the UK by a French president was in March 2008, when President Nicolas Sarkozy was a guest of Queen Elizabeth II.

Ch Insp Matthew Wilkinson, of TVP’s Joint Operations Unit, said it is employing a “significant security operation” for the visit.

“As is typical for events of this scale, we are implementing a significant airspace restriction to keep the attendees and the local community safe,” he said.

“We will be using police drones and support from the National Police Air Service in the area to enforce the restricted airspace.

“This is part of our layered security plans around the visit to keep the attendees and local community safe.

“We will have resources available and tactics deployed to enforce these restrictions and deal with anybody who fails to adhere to them.