UK army deployed as ‘deliberate’ drone raid shuts London’s Gatwick Airport, stranding thousands of passengers
- Drones were seen repeatedly flying over the airport, forcing hundreds of flights to be cancelled
- Police in a helicopter were hunting the drone operators, while the military was mobilising specialist equipment
The British Army has been deployed at London Gatwick Airport after a “deliberate” raid by drones at the busy airfield forced it to be entirely shut down on Thursday, stranding tens of thousands of passengers as hundreds of flights were cancelled and diverted.
“We are deploying specialist equipment to Gatwick airport to assist Sussex Police,” a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said the government was working to resolve the situation, while the global airline body IATA called for new measures to reduce the risk of such rogue drone operations including a registry of higher calibre drones, bigger fines, and jail sentences.
“We look forward to accelerating the cooperation between the industry, drone manufacturers and governments to reduce the risks of rogue drone operations,” IATA said in a statement.
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Alongside tougher fines and prison for offenders, IATA called for greater education for operators and technological solutions to prevent drones entering restricted airspace.