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Gatwick Airport: Drone sightings trigger disruption | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Passengers at one of the UK's busiest airports have been warned to expect further flight disruption after drones were seen over the airfield. | |
Gatwick's runway remains closed after two of the devices were seen nearby, sparking a string of delays and diversions on Wednesday evening. | |
Outbound flights were grounded and incoming planes redirected - with some landing in Paris and Amsterdam. | |
Passengers due to travel have been told to check the status of their flight. | |
The shutdown started just after 21:00 BST, when two drones were spotted being flown over the airfield. | |
"Multiple reports" of further sightings followed, a Gatwick spokesman said, and all flights to and from the airport were suspended. | |
The runway was briefly re-opened at about 03:01 GMT, the airport said, but forced to close again about 45 minutes later amid "a further sighting of drones". | |
Planes were diverted to other airports including London Heathrow, Luton and Manchester. | |
Aviation website airlive.net said some services were re-routed as far away as Cardiff, Paris and Amsterdam. | |
Crowds of passengers waited inside Gatwick's terminal for updates, while others reported being stuck on waiting planes for several hours. | |
Kasia Jaworska told the BBC she had been travelling from Glasgow to Gatwick with her boyfriend when her flight was diverted to Luton. | Kasia Jaworska told the BBC she had been travelling from Glasgow to Gatwick with her boyfriend when her flight was diverted to Luton. |
After spending about two hours on the plane, she said the couple were put on a bus to Gatwick, from where they had been due to fly to Istanbul. | After spending about two hours on the plane, she said the couple were put on a bus to Gatwick, from where they had been due to fly to Istanbul. |
Ms Jaworska said she thought it was "strange" that two drones had led to the closure of the airport. | |
"You would imagine there would be better security in place and emergency action for something like that," she added. | |
Christopher Lister, who had been returning from Kiev, posted a picture of people sleeping "on every seat and across the floors" on board his flight. | |
He said the photo was taken six hours after the plane was due to arrive at Gatwick. | |
Luke McComiskie, whose flight ended up in Manchester, described chaotic scenes as people tried to find their way home after more than three hours stuck onboard. | |
The 20-year-old, from Aldershot, told the Press Association: "We got told there would be some arrangements with coaches for us when we get out the terminal. | |
"It was just chaos and they had only two coaches and taxis charging people £600 to get to Gatwick." | |
Drones and airports | Drones and airports |
The law says: | The law says: |
Source: dronesafe.uk | Source: dronesafe.uk |
Gatwick Airport said airlines were "working to provide affected passengers with hotel accommodation" or provide alternative travel options. | Gatwick Airport said airlines were "working to provide affected passengers with hotel accommodation" or provide alternative travel options. |
A spokesman apologised for any inconvenience and said staff were working alongside Sussex Police to investigate the drone sightings. | |
According to its website, the airport expects to welcome a "record-breaking" number of passengers over this year's Christmas period. | |
It predicts 2.9 people will pass through its gates during the festive getaway, with 73,000 of those due to depart this Sunday. | |
Have you been affected by the suspension of flights at Gatwick Airport? Let us know by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Have you been affected by the suspension of flights at Gatwick Airport? Let us know by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
Or use the form below | Or use the form below |