Gatwick airport shut after sighting two drones in the airfield

Dronemania at Gatwick airport

Gatwick’s chief operating officer said drones had been spotted over the airport as late as 7:00 GMT and as a result Gatwick’s runway remains closed after two of the devices were seen nearby. Over  One hundred and ten thousand passengers on 760 flights were due to use the airport on Thursday. Over 10, 000 passengers are affected  and others warned not to travel  as planes are grounded or diverted with several flights unable to take off or land.

A flight from Antigua was diverted to Newcastle this morning because of the disruption at Gatwick airport after drones were seen over the airfield, and the passengers were now on coaches to London.

UK law bans the use of drones within 1km of airport boundaries but that has not prevented a steep rise in recent near misses.

Today Gatwick Airport is reopened.