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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/08/heathrow-airport-departures-suspended-after-drone-sighting
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| Heathrow airport departures suspended after drone sighting | Heathrow airport departures suspended after drone sighting |
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| All flights out of the UK’s busiest airport, London’s Heathrow, have been suspended after a drone sighting, just weeks after a similar report at Gatwick grounded about 1,000 flights. | All flights out of the UK’s busiest airport, London’s Heathrow, have been suspended after a drone sighting, just weeks after a similar report at Gatwick grounded about 1,000 flights. |
| A spokesperson for Heathrow said: “We are currently responding to a drone sighting at Heathrow and are working closely with the Met police to prevent any threat to operational safety. | A spokesperson for Heathrow said: “We are currently responding to a drone sighting at Heathrow and are working closely with the Met police to prevent any threat to operational safety. |
| “As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate. We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience this may cause.” | “As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate. We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience this may cause.” |
| The flight tracking site, FlightRadar, showed aircraft were still able to come in to land at the airport after the announcement on Tuesday evening. | The flight tracking site, FlightRadar, showed aircraft were still able to come in to land at the airport after the announcement on Tuesday evening. |
| The Metropolitan police said: “At approximately 5.05pm today, 8 January, we received reports of a sighting of a drone in the vicinity of Heathrow airport. As a precautionary measure, Heathrow airport has stopped departures, and officers based at Heathrow are currently investigating the reports with colleagues [there]”. | The Metropolitan police said: “At approximately 5.05pm today, 8 January, we received reports of a sighting of a drone in the vicinity of Heathrow airport. As a precautionary measure, Heathrow airport has stopped departures, and officers based at Heathrow are currently investigating the reports with colleagues [there]”. |
| About 140,000 people were affected by the disruption at Gatwick, which occurred over a three-day period in the run-up to Christmas. The latest incident comes only days after it was announced that both airports had invested significant sums of money in military-grade anti-drone technology. | About 140,000 people were affected by the disruption at Gatwick, which occurred over a three-day period in the run-up to Christmas. The latest incident comes only days after it was announced that both airports had invested significant sums of money in military-grade anti-drone technology. |
| The armed forces had to be called in to deal with the former incident and, while it would not offer details on exactly what equipment had been installed, Gatwick said it had purchased a system that offered a similar level of protection to that offered by the armed forces, while Heathrow was understood to have invested in similar equipment. | The armed forces had to be called in to deal with the former incident and, while it would not offer details on exactly what equipment had been installed, Gatwick said it had purchased a system that offered a similar level of protection to that offered by the armed forces, while Heathrow was understood to have invested in similar equipment. |
| The transport secretary, Chris Grayling, said he had been in contact with Heathrow. “I have already spoken to both the home secretary and defence secretary and the military are preparing to deploy the equipment used at Gatwick at Heathrow quickly should it prove necessary,” he added. | |
| Last week, Grayling chaired a meeting of defence chiefs, the police and Home Office officials, while the parliamentary undersecretary of state for transport, Liz Sugg, is due to meet the heads of the UK’s major airports on Thursday to discuss their plans to deal with drones. | |
| On Monday night, it emerged that police were to be handed extra powers to combat drones near airports. The government announced plans to give police the power to land, seize and search the devices, while the Home Office is due to begin testing and evaluating the use of counter-drone technology at airports and prisons. | |
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