Drones at Gatwick Airport cause flight chaos for Christmas travellers
Two people have been arrested after flights at London’s Gatwick Airport were disrupted over two days by intruding drones.
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Two people have been arrested in connection with the “criminal use of drones” which has caused widespread disruption to flights at London’s Gatwick Airport.
Sussex Police said the arrests were made at around 10pm local time (9am AEDT) and investigations are continuing.
The force has not disclosed the ages or genders of those arrested, nor the locations of where the arrests took place.
Two drones were spotted flying inside the perimeter of the UK’s second biggest airport on Thursday. Flights were again briefly grounded at the airport today after a fresh sighting, but military measures reassured operators it was safe to reopen the runway shortly afterwards.
Disruption due to the delays is expected to continue into the weekend.
Despite flights resuming after 70 minutes, airlines were still cancelling and delaying outbound flights throughout the evening and into the night. Inbound flights were also operating with delays, with some scheduled to arrive at Gatwick in the early hours of Saturday.
Superintendent James Collis of Sussex Police said: “As part of our ongoing investigations into the criminal use of drones which has severely disrupted flights in and out of Gatwick Airport, Sussex Police made the arrests.
#GatwickDrones | Around 10pm today we made 2 arrests in connection with criminal drone activity at Gatwick Airport. Proactive investigations are still on-going: we urge the public to contact us if they believe they have information that can aid us further. https://t.co/dOmKw4GnfO
— Sussex Police (@sussex_police) December 22, 2018
“Our investigations are still ongoing, and our activities at the airport continue to build resilience to detect and mitigate further incursions from drones by deploying a range of tactics.
“We continue to urge the public, passengers and the wider community around Gatwick to be vigilant and support us by contacting us immediately if they believe they have any information that can help us in bringing those responsible to justice.”
Flights have now resumed. Airfield movements were suspended while we investigated this as safety remains our main priority. The military measures we have in place at the airport have provided us with reassurance necessary to re-open our airfield.
— Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) December 21, 2018
The arrests comes after police said they were investigating “persons of interest” as they scrambled to identify who operated the drone or drones that had already caused London’s Gatwick Airport to close for 36 hours in the thick of the busy Christmas travel period.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Barry said several significant lines of inquiry were still being pursued, including the theory there was more than one drone, but added: “In terms of motivation there is a whole spectrum of possibilities, from the really high-end criminal behaviour all the way down to just individuals trying to be malicious.”
Speaking outside Gatwick, Assistant Chief Constable Barry told reporters that measures to tackle the threat included “technical, sophisticated options to detect and mitigate drone incursions, all the way down to less sophisticated options — even shotguns would be available to officers should the opportunity present itself.”
There have been more than 50 sightings of the device since 9pm (local time) on Wednesday.
Sussex police said an environmental protest was “a possibility” but that there was nothing to suggest that the incident was terrorism-related. Authorities do believe the drones are being flown in a deliberate act to disrupt the airport.
About 120,000 passengers have already had their flights cancelled during the chaos.
AUSSIES STRANDED
Thousands of Australians have been left stranded by the shutdown.
Britain called in the army on Thursday as passengers were stuck and forced to sleep on the floor of the airport on one of the busiest days of the year.
The chaos has seen hundreds of Australians making inquiries to insurers for advice on what they could claim after their flights were cancelled.
1Cover Travel Safety Expert, Richard Warburton told News Corp that they had seen a “huge spike” in travellers asking about their insurance claim options already.
“We have seen a huge spike in customer queries, with hundreds of people contacting us about flight disruptions and flights cancellation to the UK,” he said.
“Our phones have been red hot the for the last 24 hours as people naturally panic about their Christmas plans. With London Gatwick serving 45 million people per year, and being a natural thoroughfare for many Aussies and Kiwis going elsewhere in Europe, we expected the chaos at Gatwick Airport to be a huge headache for our Australian and Kiwi customers.”
Mr Warburton said those stranded should immediately contact their airline.
“The first thing customers should do in a situation like this is contact their airline to rearrange flights, accommodation, and compensation if required,” he said.
“If the disruption of their journey is excessive, customers may have a provision to claim for additional meal and accommodation expenses that they incur.
“But, as a general rule, this provision to claim is only available if airlines are not providing compensation.”
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of people who visited Australia from the UK in October were 60,800.
The number of UK residents who returned to the UK in the same month was 80,400.
ABS data shows that last year, about 650,000 Australians visited the UK.
There have been 746,700 international visitor from the UK in Australia so far this year.
Compare Travel Insurance Director Natalie Ball also told News Corp that Australians stranded by the shutdown should look at their insurance policy as they may be able to make a claim.
“It’s an unexpected event that is outside an airline’s and passenger’s control, and travel insurance policies do cover for cancellations. But people should look into their policy they have,” she said.
More than 760 flights were cancelled, police feared the devices could bring down packed passenger jets.
The unusually large drones had been spotted near the airfield more than 50 times over the 24-hour period, police said.
“We think it may have been adapted and developed,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley of the devices, adding officers were reviewing CCTV footage to identify the make and model.
Specialist equipment was deployed by the MOD (Ministry of Defence) to Gatwick Airport to assist Sussex Police.
Gisele Fenech, 43, who was travelling to Malta, was among those stranded at the airport.
“We’re meeting family and it’s my daughter’s birthday today so it’s gone all wrong. We’ve been looking forward to this for so long,” she told AFP.
“Everyone’s trying to get home for Christmas.”
“My son and his partner are delayed 24 hours travelling to Gold Coast, Australia, for Christmas with her parents for the first time in three years.
“@10DowningStreet tell the police to shoot it down. UK is a laughing stock,” one man named Stuart Wilde said on Twitter.
@sajidjavid get a grip on Gatwick. My son and his partner are delayed 24 hours travelling to Gold Coast Australia for Christmas with her parents for the first time in three years. @10DowningStreet tell the police to shoot it down. Uk is a laughing stock
— Stuart Wilde (@Stusdinners) December 20, 2018
Gatwick, which briefly closed its runway last year when a drone was spotted in the area,
serves more than 228 destinations in 74 countries and handles 45 million passengers a year.
It is the eighth-busiest airport in Europe and sits behind Mumbai as the world’s busiest single-runway air hub.
Flying a drone near an airport, or at an altitude of over 400 feet, is illegal in Britain and carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Pilots have reported numerous near-misses with drones near airports in recent years in Britain, and aviation authorities warn there is a growing risk that a mid-air collision could cause a major disaster.
Strong sales of small consumer drones have led to repeated warnings about a possible threat to commercial aviation.
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