This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gatwick-airport-drone-latest-disruption-flight-diverted-easyjet-runway-closed-a7819841.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Drone at Gatwick Airport 'closes runway and causes flights to be diverted' | Drone at Gatwick Airport 'closes runway and causes flights to be diverted' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Gatwick airport's runway was closed and flights diverted after a drone was spotted flying "in the vicinity of the airfield", officials said. | |
| At least two flights were diverted, with passengers claiming on social media their British Airways flight was heading to Bournemouth airport instead. | |
| Police said they were investigating the incident, while other flights were told to circle around the airport as a precaution. | |
| A spokesman for the airport said the runway was closed for two short periods of nine minutes and five minutes and that one plane had been sent to Stansted airport. | |
| “Due to reports of a drone observation in the vicinity of the airfield, runway operations at Gatwick were suspended between 18:10 BST and 18:19, and again from 18:36 to 18:41, resulting in a small number of go-arounds and diverts,” they said in a statement. | |
| “Operations have resumed and the police continue to investigate.” | |
| The Civil Aviation Authority's 'Drone Code' says users must not fly their remote-controlled aerial devices near airports or airfields, or close to aircraft. | |
| Endangering the safety of a plane with a drone is a criminal offence with a possible sentence of five years in prison, it warns. | |
| Last July a passenger plane flying near the Shard skycraper in central London had a "very near miss" with a drone as it approached Heathrow airport, according to a report. | |
| Craig Jenkins was on an EasyJet flight to Gatwick from Naples when his journey was disrupted. | |
| "We were crossing over the Channel and it started circling," Mr Jenkins told the BBC. | |
| "It did four or five circles, heading further east, before the captain said we were landing at Stansted. | "It did four or five circles, heading further east, before the captain said we were landing at Stansted. |
| "First, they said Gatwick was closed because of an incident. Then, shortly after, they said it was a drone." | "First, they said Gatwick was closed because of an incident. Then, shortly after, they said it was a drone." |
| Mr Jenkins added that those onboard were being given a choice between waiting for an hour and flying back to Gatwick or getting off. | Mr Jenkins added that those onboard were being given a choice between waiting for an hour and flying back to Gatwick or getting off. |
| "If one person gets off here, all the bags need to get off. There are lots of babies on this flight. I feel for the parents," he added. | "If one person gets off here, all the bags need to get off. There are lots of babies on this flight. I feel for the parents," he added. |
| The number of near misses involving drones and aeroplanes quadrupled between 2015 and 2016, according to a report by the UK Airprox Board last year. | |
| Of 23 near misses recorded between April and October last year, 12 were given an A rating of “a serious risk of collision”. |