Mystery drone over UK's 2nd busiest airport forces hour-long shutdown

Britain’s second busiest airport had to keep its runway shut for an hour after a suspected drone activity was observed in the no-fly zone on Sunday. A spokesperson for Gatwick Airport explained, “At 1:44 pm, operations at London Gatwick were temporarily suspended while authorities investigated a sighting of a suspected drone near the airfield. The investigations have now concluded, and the airfield reopened at 2:35 pm.” During the investigation, twelve incoming aircraft were redirected to other airports; however, it is anticipated that most of them will return to Gatwick later today. The airport emphasized that passenger safety was its utmost priority. Among the affected flights were a British Airways flight from Mallorca to Gatwick, which was diverted to Stansted Airport, and an easyJet flight from Venice, which was redirected to Luton Airport. During the disruption, a total of seven easyJet flights heading to Gatwick were rerouted to nearby airports. A spokesperson informed Sky News that arrangements were made for passengers to continue their journey to Gatwick. According to reports, Gatwick Airport experienced a significant incident involving multiple sightings of drones in December 2018, which led to the closure of its runway for a period of 30 hours. Gatwick reported more than 100 drone sightings around its premises over the course of three days. This incident marked the first time a major UK airport had to be shut down due to drone activity. The resulting disruption affected over 140,000 passengers and resulted in the cancellation or diversion of approximately 1,000 flights. Despite investigations, no individuals have been charged in connection with the incident. However, Gatwick Airport maintained that it was a deliberate, well-planned, and sophisticated attack. Following the incident, the UK government implemented new legislation to expand the no-fly zones around airports. The updated regulations extended the restricted airspace from 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) to three miles. In accordance with UK law, those who recklessly or negligently endanger an aircraft using a drone can face a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison. Read all the Latest News, Trending News,  Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.