London Gatwick airport flights disrupted ‘due to drones’

Flights at Gatwick Airport have been disrupted this afternoon due to “drones”.

The runway was closed, according to reports, with customers warned of delays. A passenger at Gatwick told NationalWorld that flights have resumed but services are still disrupted.

Social media tracker accounts reported the disruption just after 2pm. Gatwick Airport was famously impacted by drone activity in December 2018, which caused major chaos.

ToFly_ToTravel posted: “Gatwick Airport is currently closed due to drone activity in the area. Flights are currently diverting to other airports including Luton and Stansted.”

A Gatwick spokesman was unable to say whether a drone had been discovered after the latest reported sighting. The spokesman said: “Passenger safety is the airport’s absolute priority and – following established procedures – operations at London Gatwick were suspended temporarily at 1344, while investigations into the sighting of a suspected drone close to the airfield took place.

“These investigations have now completed and the airfield reopened at 1435. Twelve inbound aircraft were diverted to other airports during the investigation, however we expect many of these to return to London Gatwick today.”

British Airways said one of its flights was affected, with it landing at Stansted before refuelling and returning to Gatwick.

More to follow.