Gatwick Airport was closed this afternoon to all flights due to illegal drone activity in the area. A total of 13 flights were diverted according to aviation enthusiasts while an investigation took place.
Passenger, Tarquin Cooper, tweeted: “Are you aware Gatwick is closed due to drone activity? Been sitting on tarmac for last hour.” Twitter feed Flight Emergency said earlier this afternoon: “Gatwick has been closed for a while due to drone activity in the area.”
Chris replied: “No doubt it will be a quick resolution. Gatwick has an advanced drone detection system with high resolution video tracking that detects both the drone and pilot location. If it was a sighting then they will easily detect if there is actually a drone.”
British Airways’ arrivals from Faro and Palma touched down instead at Stansted. The Essex airport was also the unexpected destination for passengers flying on Vueling from Rome, Tui from Kavala and Turkish Airlines from Istanbul.
A Gatwick spokesperson said: “Passenger safety is the airport’s absolute priority and – following established procedures – operations at London Gatwick were suspended temporarily at 1.44pm while investigations into the sighting of a suspected drone close to the airfield took place.
“These investigations have now [been] completed and the airfield reopened at 2.35pm. Twelve inbound aircraft were diverted to other airports during the investigation, however, we expect many of these to return to London Gatwick today.”
