Gatwick airport was forced to cancel hundreds of flights yesterday, leaving thousands of passengers arriving to and departing from the London airport stranded. The closures came after drones were spotted in the skies above the south London airport. Flights to the airport have now started again but passengers are facing lengthy delays and are expected to be backed up until Christmas. Gatwick Airport said shortly before 6.30am its runway “is currently available and a limited number of aircraft are scheduled for departure and arrival”. The airport added: “Gatwick continues to advise passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport as departures and arrivals will be subject to delays and cancellations.”
Gatwick’s chief operating officer Chris Woodroofe told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he expected 700 departures from the airport on Tuesday.
About 140 flights have been cancelled.
Mr Woodroofe said the operator of the drones, which disrupted 120,000 passengers’ flights on Thursday, had not been found by police.
What time till Gatwick reopen fully? Are all flights delayed?
Gatwick Airport has not stated when it will fully reopen and travellers are being warned to expect “ongoing delays and cancellations” to flights today.
The West Sussex airport’s live flight tracker shows large numbers of flights either being delayed or cancelled at present.
Airlines are also advising passengers to check their online booking before travelling to the airport.
Thousands of people remain stranded inside Gatwick four days before Christmas.
Mr Woodroofe apologised to everyone affected by the delays and said his intention “is to get those passengers to their destinations so that they can enjoy their Christmas”.
As flights start to reopen, police are continuing to hunt for the perpetrator behind the 36-hour closure of Britain’s second busiest airport.
There were more than 50 sightings of a drone in the 24 hours since the runway was first closed at 9pm on Wednesday.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley, of Sussex Police, said the force was following up a “number of persons of interest” in their investigations.
One line of enquiry was that a lone wolf eco-warrior was behind the drone activity.
Terrorism has been ruled out as a potential theory.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling called what had happened “unprecedented” and said the government would “have to learn very quickly from what’s happened”.
He added: “I plan to convene discussions with other airports around the UK very quickly indeed so that they know what’s happened, they understand what lessons need to be learned, and we’ve put in place every measure we possibly can to ensure this can’t happen again.”
The number of near misses between private drones and aircraft more than tripled between 2015 and 2017.
There were 92 incidents recorded last year.
Flying drones within 0.6 miles (1km) is a criminal offence punishable by a five-year jail sentence and a hefty fine.
