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Gatwick drone turmoil: pair arrested are local, police say Gatwick: man and woman questioned over 'criminal use of drones'
(about 3 hours later)
A 47-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman are being held on suspicion of disrupting aviation after the drone activity that caused chaos at Gatwick airport. A man and woman were being questioned by police last night over the “criminal use of drones” as Gatwick airport slowly returned to normal after days of Christmas travel chaos.
Police are searching a home in Crawley, around five miles from Gatwick, after it was announced that the pair, who are from the town, had been arrested on suspicion of the “criminal use of drones” and remain in custody. Following the most disruptive incident ever caused by a drone at a major international airport, detectives continued to interview a 47-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman from Crawley as forensic officers searched a house in the West Sussex town, three miles south of Gatwick.
They face potential charges of disrupting services of civil aviation in a way likely to endanger the safety of people or operations and have been remanded in custody. A series of drone sightings above its runway had forced Britain’s second-largest airport to shut three times in three days, leaving around 140,000 passengers stranded. It was the airport’s biggest disruption since the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud of 2010.
Supt James Collis of Sussex police said: “As part of our ongoing investigations into the criminal use of drones which has severely disrupted flights in and out of Gatwick airport, Sussex police made two arrests just after 10pm on Friday. Terminals at Gatwick were broadly back to normal last night with the airport on course to run “a full schedule” of 757 flights, carrying 124,484 passengers. “Safety is Gatwick’s top priority and we are grateful for passengers’ continued patience as we work to get them to their destination in time for Christmas,” said a spokesman.
“Our investigations are still ongoing, and our activities at the airport continue to build resilience to detect and mitigate further incursions from drones by deploying a range of tactics. Gatwick flights resume after drone sighting caused more disruption – as it happened
“We continue to urge the public, passengers and the wider community around Gatwick to be vigilant and support us by contacting us immediately if they believe they have any information that can help us in bringing those responsible to justice. Those arriving at the airport told a different story, however, describing delays of many hours involving road and ferry diversions. This was the knock-on effect of more than 1,000 flights being cancelled or diverted during the 36 hours of disruption at what is the world’s second-busiest single-runway airport.
“The arrests we have made are a result of our determination to keep the public safe from harm. Every line of inquiry will remain open to us until we are confident that we have mitigated further threats to the safety of passengers.” The man and woman are being questioned “on suspicion of disrupting services of civil aviation in a way likely to endanger the safety of operations or persons” – offences that carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on conviction.
Police urged anyone who might have information about the drone operators to report it online or call 101 and quote Operation Trebor. “If you see anyone acting suspiciously in the area of the airport, please dial 999 immediately,” Collis said. Although police released no further details, officers urged the public to be vigilant amid efforts to “build resilience to detect and mitigate further incursions from drones”.
Gatwick airport said on Saturday that it was open but that passengers should expect delays and long queues as airlines worked to clear a backlog of flights. Elsewhere, the debate continues on why the airspace was not secured until Thursday night, when the army deployed unidentified military technology – and how a drone seemingly managed to breach the airport defences briefly on Friday evening, prompting further delays.
“Many people will be due to fly today and there will be longer delays perhaps,” a Gatwick spokesman said. “But broadly things are going in the right direction. By the end of the weekend, things should be back to normal.” Among military equipment said to have been deployed is the Israeli-developed Drone Dome system, which can pinpoint drones by radar.
A handful of arrivals were cancelled on Saturday, according to the airport’s website, including an easyJet service from Milan-Linate and a TUI flight from Bridgetown, Barbados. I warned airports about drones. Now Gatwick shows they must take action | Simon Moores
The UK’s second largest airport was plunged into chaos on Wednesday night when drones were spotted hovering near the runway. About 1,000 flights were cancelled or diverted , affecting about 140,000 passengers. The scale of the disruption has focused attention on current legislation, amid claims that transport secretary Chris Grayling sidelined plans to introduce laws regulating drone use, despite being repeatedly warned of the risk they posed.
The airport reopened its runway on Friday, though flights were briefly grounded again in the evening after a fresh drone sighting at about 5.10pm, Military measures reassured operators it was safe to reopen the runway shortly afterwards. Yet the Observer has learnt that six UK airports will begin trialling new counter-drone technology early next year as authorities and airports scramble to deflect blame for the Gatwick chaos. The trials, run in conjunction with the National Air Traffic Services, will see the six airports, which do not include Gatwick, provided with technology allowing them to spot drones, including rogue ones, and alert the police.
“We will be testing it in six airports and hopefully it will last a few months and then go out to all Nats airports,” said Richard Parker founder and CEO of Altitude Angel, a technology company involved in the pilot project. But the length of time it has taken airports to wake up to the threat is likely to raise questions.
Last week’s disruption has also highlighted Britain’s sluggishness about a drone registry, say analysts. Since 2015, the US Federal Aviation Administration has required drone operators to be registered, allowing the devices to be identified.
Of more immediate concern to thousands of passengers is the question of compensation. Airlines said they were not obliged to pay out as the situation was outside their control. They are advising passengers to contact their travel insurer, but insurance companies are telling people to speak first to their airline.
Travel insurance policies differ, and many passengers will not be covered. Which? said passengers should be able to claim “for losses they incur” on their travel insurance.
What are my rights if my flight from Gatwick is cancelled?
However, the Association of British Insurers said people affected by disruption at Gatwick should approach the airlines for refunds, but that it depends whether travellers also purchased travel insurance which includes cover for disruption.
AXA, which provides insurance plans for passengers on various airlines, also urged people to approach airlines “in the first instance”. On its website, it reiterates that flight delays and cancellations are covered only if you have travel disruption cover, which many AXA policies include.
The Civil Aviation Authority has said airlines are not obliged to pay compensation for delays since events were outside their control. However, an industry source said they still have a duty of care to customers, meaning they should either provide refunds or put people on alternative flights.
Grayling has said the government will be speaking with the insurance industry to make sure it takes an “enlightened view”.
At the height of the disruption, thousands were forced to spend the night at the airport, where staff provided free water, blankets and food.
The financial impact to the airlines is not yet clear with Gatwick’s biggest operators – including easyJet, British Airways and Norwegian – saying it is too early to ascertain its damage.
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