There are reasons why drones aren’t allowed to fly near airports. This is because much like how birds that fly into the engine of a plane can prove to be destructive, the same can be said for drones. In fact recently there was a report of how a drone might have collided mid-air with a plane, causing damage to the nose of the aircraft, although thankfully that was the extent of it.
Now according to a report from the BBC, it seems that a couple of rogue drones spotted flying around London’s Gatwick Airport have caused flight disruptions, forcing authorities to ground all flights, affecting 760 flights and about 110,000 passengers as a result. However it seems that this was not a terror-related incident, according to Sussex Police, but rather a “deliberate act” of disruption.
According to the reports, the shutdown of the airport and flights began around 21:00 on Wednesday when two drones were spotted flying over the perimeter of a fence and onto the runway. However the runway was opened again at 03:01 but was forced to be closed again 45 minutes later due to further sighting of drones.
The police were said to be hesitant at the idea of potentially shooting down the drones due to the possibility of stray bullets. They are now on the hunt for the drone operator(s) behind the rogue drones, who we imagine are in very big trouble.