21 Dec, 2018 @ 10:36
1 min read

London Gatwick reopens following drone nightmare but disruption will continue today, authorities ‘genuinely don’t know’ who was behind the crime

Gatwick Airport

FLIGHTS have resumed at London Gatwick Airport today after almost 800 flights were cancelled in yesterday’s drone fiasco. 

The airport still urged travellers to check the status of their journey as disruptions were still expected to run into Friday.

It said in a statement: “We are, however, expecting knock-on delays and cancellations to flights.

“If you are due to travel from Gatwick today, we strongly recommend that you check the status of your flight with your airline before departing for the airport.”

British transport minister Chris Grayling said there was a ‘long prison sentence’ for the person or people behind the twisted stunt, which saw more than 130,000 people stranded.

“This was a criminal offence,” he said. “This was someone who was deliberately trying to disrupt an airport.”

“If you fly a drone irresponsibly near an airport, you can go to jail for five years,”  he added, saying authorities now need to see what further preventative measures can be taken.

When quizzed on what could be behind the drone attack, he said: “We genuinely don’t yet know.”

Reuters has reported that some 700 flights were scheduled to take off from Gatwick Friday.

The drones being used yesterday have been described as ‘industrial-grade’ by those close to the investigation.

But with no culprit captured the UK’s second-busiest airport could be shut down again if a drone reappears.

Gatwick Chief Operating Officer Chris Woodroofe told BBC Radio that ‘mitigating measures’ have been deployed but he refused to confirm whether that included shooting down the drones.

The motive for the drone use isn’t clear but police say there is no indication it is ‘terror related.’

It comes after a source told the Telegraph yesterday that an environmental terrorist could be behind the drones.

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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