Gatwick airport delays: Flights resume despite new drone sighting

Stranded passengers on a wide range of airlines have told The Independent that they have been refused the care package – including hotel rooms and meals – that are stipulated by European legislation.

Anecdotally, the worst offenders are smaller airlines based outside the EU.

Police have said they "cannot guarantee that another drone isn't going to pop" and disrupt Gatwick airport.

Steve Barry, assistant chief constable of Sussex Police, said authorities were in "a much better position" mitigate the threat but had made no arrests and seized no devices.

The last sighting of one of the devices was at 10pm last night.

In a statement just released by the force, Mr Barry said:

We are really pleased that the airport has re-opened. The number of options now available to help us detect and mitigate the threat from the drone has given us increased confidence in keeping people safe.

This has been a particularly challenging situation. We have looked at everything possible that we can deploy to mitigate this threat and we have a range of measures, of differing levels of sophistication, in place which puts us in a much better position. We are being supported by Surrey Police and Metropolitan Police, as well as the military.

I cannot guarantee that another drone isn’t going to pop up and disrupt the airport. The situation is being kept under review but we are in a much more positive situation than yesterday. The runway is open and we hope to keep it that way.

We are working very closely with Gatwick Airport Limited and the Civil Aviation Authority and are in close consultation with the government and other agencies in an effort to keep people safe.

Some very long delays are building at Gatwick as the airport and its airlines battle to operate their schedules, reports The Independent's travel correspondent, Simon Calder.  

Air China's flight to Chengdu, Norwegian to Gothenburg and Thomas Cook Airlines to Banjul in Gambia are all six hours late. 

Air Europa to Madrid has a five-hour delay, while a long list of easyJet flights are four hours behind schedule.

As well as dozens of short-haul cancellations, many inter-continental flights have been axed – including WestJet to Toronto, Chicago on Norwegian, and Orlando and Antigua on Virgin Atlantic.

Police could use shotguns to take down drones, a senior officer has said.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Barry, from Sussex police, said officers were working on the hypothesis there is more than one drone, although the last sighting was at about 10pm on Thursday.

Speaking outside Gatwick airport, he said measures to tackle the threat included "technical, sophisticated options to detect and mitigate drone incursions, all the way down to less sophisticated options - even shotguns would be available to officers should the opportunity present itself".

Another update from Simon Calder.

At Gatwick, the question many passengers are asking is: with the so-called “drone ranger" still at large, what has changed between Thursday and Friday?

The Independent understands that high level talks took place yesterday and that there is now complete confidence that any drone incursions can be dealt with without danger to the public.

While no details of protection have been revealed by either the airport or the authorities, The Independent believes that military-grade technology is involved.

Meanwhile, Brian Strutton, general secretary of BALPA, said he was confident the government would increase the exclusion zone around airports.

He added: "This incident also reinforces the need for registration of drones and licensing of operators so that the police can track and trace drones which are being flown dangerously or irresponsibly and for the industry to invest in technology which can detect drones and stop them from being flown near airports and aircraft."

Labour has criticised the government and particularly Chris Grayling over their handling of the Gatwick crisis.

Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, said: "We're all relieved that Gatwick has reopened, but the government now needs to admit that the chaos of the past two days was a consequence of its own failures.

"The government has neither understood nor fully assessed the risk posed by drones to the UK's national infrastructure. It has not undertaken anything like appropriate contingency planning. And it has not prepared properly, despite protective technology being available.

"It's obvious that drones should not be able to get anywhere near an airport before being taken down. But the government has dithered and delayed on regulating drones. Once again, there is a lack of leadership from the transport secretary."

One piece of military hardware believed to have been deployed at Gatwick is the Israeli-developed Drone Dome system, which can detect drones using radar.

A bit more information on "Drone Dome":

- thought to have range of several miles

- has four radars giving 360-degree coverage

- can jam drones' communications

It is thought the British Army is in charge of the system deployed at Gatwick, and that it is not the version which includes a laser for shooting down unmanned craft.

Asst Ch Con Steve Barry has said "persons of interest" have been identified in the investigation into drone incursions at Gatwick.

The Sussex Police officer added that there was "no evidence" the drone activity was state-sponsored.

Sussex Police say they have "active lines of inquiry" over the drone incursions.

Officers say they are keeping an open mind as to the motive.