Robyn Edie

Queenstown Winter Festival fireworks wowed the crowds , despite an unplanned intermission while a rogue drone was dealt with.

A rogue drone held up the lightshow at Queenstown's Winter Festival overnight.

The fireworks display was disrupted when it was discovered a drone was being flown close to the show.

Festival director Rae Baker confirmed a drone was involved and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was "dealing with it".

Harbourmaster Marty Black said one of the festival organisers noticed something was interfering with the firework controls.

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"The fireworks' remote control ... it must be a similar frequency [to the drone], so there were some implications there," he said.

Radio waves of similar frequency can disrupt the signal of other radio-operated devices, like the remote controls used to operate the fireworks.

"We ... located the guy, and [the fireworks display] went fine from there. It's all in the hands of the CAA now."

Black believed the CAA would be investigating the incident further, however a CAA spokesperson was unable to immediately confirm the incident. 

Flying inside or within four kilometres of an aerodrome, an area in which aircraft operate, without prior consent is illegal.

A police spokeswoman said there was no record of the incident.

There have been growing concerns about privacy and safety as drone usage increases.

Drones have been used to spy on people both in public and through windows in their own homes, and it can be difficult or even impossible to identify the operator.

Improper drone use in restricted areas, like airports, have delayed and even re-routed planes approaching Auckland Airport more than once.

One man was convicted on three charges of breeching controlled airspace in 2016 when he used his drone to record scrub fires.

Drones are prohibited from being flown at night, when they could become a hazard to aircraft which have no way to detect them in the dark.

They are allowed to operate on only a limited frequency range, to avoid interfering with air traffic control signals, cellphones, or emergency services radio.

 - Stuff