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London Gatwick reopens with mammoth backlog as drones disappear
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More than 50 incoming planes were diverted to other hubs in Britain and mainland Europe on Wednesday night, with the airport reopened after six hours, only to shut again 45 minutes later amid further sightings. (Bloomberg/File)
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ondon’s Gatwick airport reopened for flights Friday while cautioning that it’s still on the hunt for illegal drones that buzzed the hub for almost 24 hours, disrupting travel for 120,000 people.
With many planes and staff still out of position, Gatwick cautioned that it will struggle to operate a normal timetable, let alone clear the backlog of passengers who found themselves grounded by the mystery incursions. It added that there’s no guarantee the devices are gone.
“Obviously there is a possibility that the drones could return,” a Gatwick spokeswoman said by telephone while adding that management are “suitably content in working with the police and other experts to re-open.” Customers should check with their airline before traveling to the terminal, the airport advised.
Sussex police, who have been dealing with the incident along with specialists from Britain’s armed forces, said there were almost 50 drone sightings at the airport between 9.07 p.m. Wednesday and 4.25 p.m. on Thursday, though some may have been duplicates. A statement on the force’s website said that “as yet, the drone has not been identified.”
It’s not clear how long it will take to restore order at Gatwick after the worst disruption at a London airport since blizzards closed Heathrow in 2013. The hub has only one runway, which is already the world’s busiest, giving it little scope to cram in more flights even if the drones stay away. EasyJet Plc, the airport’s biggest carrier, was among those to caution that it expected further disruption.
UK authorities portrayed the intrusion as a deliberate invasion of Gatwick’s airspace at one of the busiest travel periods of the year. A single pair of drones got the better of a multi-fronted operation supported by the U.K. military for the best part of two days.
A daylight search backed by helicopters failed to locate the devices or their operator. U.K. Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson sent in the military, and the Ministry of Defense said specialist equipment would be deployed. In a bid to ease the backlog of flights, the Department for Transport temporarily lifted a ban on night operations at other U.K. airports.
Read also: Army joins drone hunt after London airport shutdown
Gatwick Chief Executive Officer Stewart Wingate said the criminal intrusions involving two drones were “highly targeted” and designed to deliver maximum disruption in the days before Christmas. Police said the actions were clearly intentional, though most likely not terror related.
More than 50 incoming planes were diverted to other hubs in Britain and mainland Europe on Wednesday night, with the airport reopened after six hours, only to shut again 45 minutes later amid further sightings.
As well as the biggest base for EasyJet, Gatwick is also a focus for long-haul leisure flights at British Airways. Hundreds of operations have been disrupted because of the closure.
Ryanair Holdings Plc said it would shift Friday flights at Gatwick to London’s Stansted Airport. Airlines such as Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. and Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA have diverted to other airfields.
Unmanned aerial vehicles and laser pointers are becoming an increasing threat for aircraft, prompting regulators to come up with new rules against operating the devices near airfields.
Dubai International Airport shut down temporarily in 2016 after suspected drone activity, while airspace around Wellington, New Zealand, was closed for 30 minutes this year when a craft was spotted flying close to the runway. And Grupo Aeromexico SAB last week said was investigating whether a drone collided with a Boeing Co. 737 aircraft as the plane approached Tijuana, Mexico. The jet sustained damage to its nose but landed safely.
While governments bar drones from paths reserved for airliners, with Britain outlawing flights above 400 feet or within 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) of an airport boundary, the millions of small consumer devices that have been purchased around the world can’t be tracked on radar.
That makes it difficult to enforce the rules. In addition, many users don’t know the restrictions -- or don’t follow them.
Prime Minister Theresa May said that the disruption was “particularly difficult for people” to bear in the run up to Christmas and the New Year, and that the drone operators face as many as five years in jail if caught.
