Two arrested Gatwick drones

A woman and a man have been arrested at 22:00 GMT on Friday, in connection with a string of drone sightings which brought Gatwick Airport to standstill.

The airport has since reopened but flights were grounded for more than a day affecting over 140, 000 passenger after drones were seen near the runway, which highlighted the speed with which technological innovations can throw up new security risks, exposing public authorities’ ability to respond. In recent years Drones have gone from geek gadgets to mass-market products in just a few years. Tests have shown that a device weighing less than 1 kg can do severe damage in a collision with a commercial aircraft travelling over 200mph and one weighing 2kg could smash a cockpit windshield. The UK Airpox Board, which promotes air safety, says there were 92 near-misses in 2017. An inbound flight from Delhi came within 10 feet of a drone over London’s Clapham Common in June 2018, And a device struck the wing of Canadian commercial aircraft last year. Thankfully all landed safely. Airlines and pilot bodies have been urging the government to extend the 1km exlusion zone in airports to the likes of 3.5 miles in Canada or 5 miles in the US. From next November all owners of drones weighin gover 250g must register with authorities and take online safety tests. Regulation is however, powerless against those with genuinely malign intent. Systems are already available that can jam drones or bring them down with nets.

A further drone sighting has again disrupted the UK’s second largest airport with flights grounded and passengers unable to fly. Aircrafts were left circling above the area during the latest alert, which came at 17:10 GMT, and flights resumed within 90 minutes.

Police believe more than one unmanned drone has been used and are investigating the possibility of multiple culprits.

Gatwick’s CEO Chris Woodroofe said on Friday morning, that 120, 000 passengers due to arrive or fly had not travelled since Wednesday night.