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The Guardian

The drone sightings that brought Gatwick airport to a standstill in December could have been an “inside job”, according to police, who said the perpetrator may have been operating the drone from inside the airport.
Sussex police told BBC’s Panorama programme that the fact an insider may have been behind the incidents was “treated as a credible line of inquiry from the earliest stages of the police response”.

Gatwick’s chief operating officer, Chris Woodroofe, believes the perpetrator was familiar with the airport’s operational procedures and had a clear view of the runway or possibly infiltrated its communication network.
“It was clear that the drone operators had a link into what was going on at the airport,” he told Panorama, in his first interview since the incident.
He said the culprit carefully picked a drone that would remain undetected by the airport’s DJI Aeroscope detection system being tested at the time.
Between December 19 and 21 last year, Gatwick airport faced widespread chaos after a drone was spotted hovering above the runway, causing more than 140,000 passengers to face flight delays and cancellations.
Despite a massive police operation and a £50,000 (US$65,000) reward, police were unable to find the culprit. Sussex police said the investigation was continuing but it expected it to take “some months to complete”.
Woodroofe, who oversaw the airport’s response to the drone incident, described the incident as malicious and criminal. He dismissed accusations airport staff overreacted at the time and said it was protocol to close the runway if a drone is present.
“There is absolutely nothing that I would do differently when I look back at the incident, because, ultimately, my No 1 priority has to be to maintain the safety of our passengers, and that’s what we did,” Woodroofe said. “And it was terrible that 140,000 people’s journeys were disrupted, but everyone was safe.”

Gatwick has since invested £5 million on anti-drone equipment, including systems made by three British companies.
Woodroofe said he is confident the airport is now much more protected, with new state-of-the-art technology that can better spot drones. “We would know the drone was arriving on site and we’d know where that drone had come from, where it was going to and we’d have a much better chance of catching the perpetrator,” he said.


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Aviation

Gatwick drone ‘attack’ could have been inside job, say police

A drone flies in Hanworth Park in west London not far from Heathrow Airport. File photo: AP

A British Airways Airbus 320-232 aircraft prepares to land at London Gatwick Airport, south of London, on December 21, 2018, as flights resumed following the closing of the airfield due to a drones flying. - British police were Friday considering shooting down the drone that has grounded flights and caused chaos at London's Gatwick Airport, with passengers set to face a third day of disruption. Police said it was a "tactical option" after more than 50 sightings of the device near the airfield since Wednesday night when the runway was first closed. (Photo by Ben STANSALL / AFP)

Counter drone equipment is deployed on a rooftop at Gatwick airport in Gatwick, England, Friday, Dec. 21, 2018. Flights resumed at London's Gatwick Airport on Friday after drones sparked about 36 hours of travel chaos including the shutdown of the airfield, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded or delayed during the busy holiday season. (John Stillwell/PA via AP)

The departures area in the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport, where large queues formed after drones caused the airport to shut down for more than a day in December 2018. Photo: Xinhua

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Airport closed for more than a day in December, causing travel chaos, after reports of drone sightings


Airport closed for more than a day in December, causing travel chaos, after reports of drone sightings.


Britain

Crime

Gatwick drone ‘attack’ could have been inside job, say police

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Airport closed for more than a day in December, causing travel chaos, after reports of drone sightings

Airport closed for more than a day in December, causing travel chaos, after reports of drone sightings