Drone sightings in and around airfield have caused the airfield at Gatwick Airport to close for safety reasons since last night and caused the cancellation of flights at the UK gateway.
A latest statement from the airport today at 07.40h reads: “Flights to and from Gatwick remain suspended, due to drone activity. Please do not travel to the airport without checking with your airline first. We’re sorry for the inconvenience today, but the safety of our passengers and staff is our no.1 priority.”
The airport said earlier this morning following reports of two drones flying over the Gatwick airfield at around 21.00h yesterday, the airfield was closed from 21:03h Wednesday on 19 December to 03:01h Thursday 20 December.
However, further sighting of drones in the vicinity of the airport meant that the runway had to be closed again from 03.45h today and it is still investigating these alongside Sussex Police.
The airport said in a statement early this morning: “Unfortunately, this has led to a number of flights being diverted to other airports and all flight arrivals and departures are currently suspended from Gatwick.
“If you are due to fly from Gatwick today, we strongly advise you not to come to the airport unless you have checked the status of your flight with your airline.
“If you are meeting someone from a flight, please check our live flight information for up-to-date about that flight.
“Our airlines are working to provide affected passengers with hotel accommodation or transport passengers landing at other airports to Gatwick by other means, and Gatwick staff are looking after passengers in our terminals.
“We apologise to any affected passengers for this inconvenience but the safety of our passengers and all staff is our number one priority.”
