Passenger chaos as drones close UK airport
Print Edition
DRONES flying near London’s Gatwick Airport grounded flights for at least 15 hours yesterday, causing chaos for tens of thousands of Christmas travelers in what authorities said was a reckless attempt to cripple Britain’s second-busiest airport.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said those flying the drones were “irresponsible and completely unacceptable” and voiced sympathy for people having their travel plans upset just days before Christmas.
The airport had expected to handle around 115,000 passengers yesterday.
Ani Kochiashvili, who was booked onto an evening flight, added: “It’s really busy. People are sitting everywhere, on the stairs, on the floors.”
Police said more than 20 units were searching for the drone operators.
“At the moment we’re still getting sightings of the drones in and around the airfield,” Gatwick Policing Airport Commander Justin Burtenshaw said.
Sussex regional police said public safety was paramount, adding: “There are no indications to suggest this is terror-related.”
Gatwick, which lies 50 kilometers south of London, gave no indication on when it would reopen and described the situation as an “ongoing incident.”
There has been an increase in near-collisions by unmanned aircraft and commercial jets, heightening concerns for safety across the aviation industry in recent years.
The number of near misses between private drones and aircraft in Britain more than tripled between 2015 and 2017, with 92 incidents recorded last year, according to the UK Airprox Board.
Gatwick Chief Operating Officer Chris Woodroofe warned that the knock-on effects from the airport closure would last for more than 24 hours. He described one of the drones as a heavy industrial model.
“It’s definitely not a standard, off-the-shelf type drone,” he said.
“Given what has happened I definitely believe it is a deliberate act.”
He added: “Police advice is that it would be dangerous to seek to shoot the drone down because of what may happen to the stray bullets.”
Under British law it is illegal to fly drones within 1 kilometer of an airport boundary. The offense is punishable by up to five years in prison. Policing airport commander Burtenshaw said he said he was confident of tracking down whoever was behind the drones, but it wouldn’t be easy.
“It’s a painstaking thing with the new drones,” he said. “The bigger the drones the further the reach of the operator so it’s a challenging thing to locate them.”
Gatwick apologized on Twitter to affected passengers, adding that safety was its “foremost priority.”
Passengers took to Twitter to share their stories. One waiting at the airport said: “At Gatwick Airport, drone chaos, surprisingly good natured, but complete mayhem.”
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