Gatwick airport delays: Army called in to help battle drone chaos with flights grounded for at least 33 hours
Up to 120,000 passengers affected by delays and cancellations after devices force runway closure
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Your support makes all the difference.The Army was called in to Gatwick to deal with rogue drones being repeatedly flown overheard in what police said was a ”deliberate” attempt to disrupt Britain’s second-busiest airport.
More than 120,000 passengers have been affected by delays and cancellations, with all flights grounded for at least 33 hours as the Christmas getaway begins.
The drone or drones first appeared at 9pm on Wednesday and by Thursday night there had been 50 reported sightings. The airport is not due to open before 6am on Friday.
Sussex Police said they were trying to identify the make and model of the flying machine and were actively considering shooting it down.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said the use of firearms “will be within our suite of tactical options available to us going forward”.
He added: “One of the options is to use firearms officers if that presents itself – they have been out on the ground today and that’s a consideration and a tactical option that is open to us.
“There are a number of factors in terms of range, the height of the drone and the likely impact of us firing at the drone but that is a tactical option open to the gold commander who will make a decision based on the information available to them at the time.”
Chris Woodroofe, Gatwick’s chief operating officer, said the airport could potentially remain closed for all of Friday following further drone sightings.
He said: “My apologies to all those passengers who have seen this disruption from the criminal activity from these people who are purposely disrupting our airport and their travel so close to Christmas.”
“We have had the police, we have had the military seeking to bring this drone down for the last 24 hours and to date that has not been successful so Gatwick Airport is still closed.
The government, which condemned the activity as as “incredible irresponsible”, is facing widespread calls for the urgent introduction of stronger drone laws.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said there was no known motive for the drone activity but said there was no suggestion it was related to terrorism.
To read our coverage of developments as they happened, see below
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Theresa May's official spokesman has condemned the drones at Gatwick as "irresponsible and completely unacceptable".
He added: "These drones have been flown illegally and the law couldn't be clearer that those found endangering aircraft could face up to five years in jail.
"We are in close contact with Gatwick Airport as they work with police to safely resolve the situation as quickly as possible."
Environmental campaigners who have recently disrupted London traffic with climate change protests have issued a statement to dispel suggestions they are behind the Gatwick drones.
Extinction Rebellion said it had "heard there are rumours circulating" about its involvement, but stressed its demonstrations would always be "above the ground, meaning we stand by our actions, are accountable and take the consequences".
How do you stop a drone flying illegally?
Gatwick chief operating officer Chris Woodroofe said earlier that police had decided to not shoot down the drones at the airport with firearms because of "what might happen with stray bullets."
Other methods exist to stop drones, many of which involve nets that tangle with the propellers and force them to crash land.
A more bizarre strategy employed by Dutch police involves trained eagles plucking drones out of the sky with their powerful talons.
My colleague Anthony Cuthbertson has more details on the drone regulations and defences:
These images show the chaos at Gatwick airport, which is currently crowded with passengers hoping they may still be able to fly.
More than 110,000 people are due to travel on 760 flights out of the airport today, but as the police search for the drone operators approaches its 15th hour, an increasing number of those will be disappointed.
The disruption at Gatwick will continue several days even after the drone operators have been stopped, the airport's chief operating officer has said.
Chris Woodroofe told BBC News: "There are 110,000 passengers due to fly today, and the vast majority of those will see cancellations and disruption."
He could not say when the airport will reopen, adding another drone had been spotted "within the last hour".
He said: "It was on the airport, seen by the police and corroborated. So having seen that drone that close to the runway it was unsafe to reopen.
"Realistically if we do reopen today, what the airlines will seek to do is deal with the passengers who are on site and to prepare for an operation tomorrow morning where we repatriate passengers who are in the wrong place.
"It's realistically going to take several days to recover."
Is your flight into or out of Gatwick delayed? Our travel correspondent Simon Calder explains your rights:
Gatwick will now be closed until 4pm at the earliest, according to Eurocontrol's latest update.
The government has come under fire in the House of Lords over the disruption caused to flights from Gatwick.
Liberal Democrats called for more stringent controls on the use of drones, while Labour accused the government of "persistently dragging its feet" on the issue.
Labour's Lord Harris of Haringey said peers had been raising concerns about drones for more than two years. He said technical specifications could have been introduced to enable drones to be disabled and brought safely to the ground.
The penalties for misuse of drones were also inadequate, he added
Liberal Democrat Baroness Randerson said today's chaos illustrated the ease with which drone users could inflict "massive damage on our safety, security and economy". She warned thousands more drones would find their ways into the hand of "untrained, unregistered users" this Christmas and called for more stringent controls next year.
Aviation minister Baroness Sugg denied being complacent and insisted ministers would look at new laws to combat the problem. She said a registration system was being introduced which would include a mandatory safety check before people were able to fly a drone.
Everyone's favourite robotics professor, Noel Sharkey, Robot Wars star, has condemned the lack of preparation for the age of drones.
Detective superintendent Juliet Parker of Sussex Police has told the BBC: "We've committed a lot of resources to this. Progress may seem like it is slow, but we are doing everything we can with Gatwick to resolve this with the safety of the public absolutely paramount."
When asked whether the airport would be open soon she said: "At the moment, until we can guarantee it's absolutely safe, then this is the right thing to do at this time."
When asked about the laws banning drone flights near airports, she said: "I'm sure it is something that will be reviewed with the right people around the table."
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