[ad_1]
LONDON: Police arrested a man and a woman after rogue drone operators paralyzed London Gatwick airport for three days on several occasions at the airfield, provoking a major reaction from the United States. Security.
Drones were first sighted Wednesday around the second busiest air center in Britain. They stopped the track and caused the chaos of more than 120,000 people.
Police said they made two arrests Friday as part of the ongoing investigation into the use of drones for criminal purposes.
The airport, which closed its runway Wednesday, Friday and Thursday, announced plans to launch a full program on Saturday.
However, he warned that passengers should expect delays and cancellations as he continues to recover from the biggest disruption since an Icelandic volcanic ash cloud in 2010.
READ: Catch me if you can: the attack of a drone in London exposes the vulnerabilities of an airport
"We continue to urge the public, passengers and the entire community around Gatwick to be vigilant," police said.
"Our investigations are still ongoing and our airport operations continue to build resilience to detect and mitigate new drone incursions by deploying a range of tactics," they added. a statement.
The flights resumed Friday after a new drone observation briefly forced the aircraft to be grounded as a "precautionary measure," a Gatwick spokesman said.
Sussex police said the police had used "a whole range of tactics" to search for mysterious UAV operators and "strengthen their resilience to detect and mitigate future incursions" from the aircraft .
The dangers posed by drones include the possibility that a device strikes a passenger plane or is sucked into an engine where its highly flammable lithium battery could cause a disaster.
General disturbance
Passengers, many of whom were trying to return home for Christmas or to start their holidays, were asked to check the status of their flights before traveling to the airport.
Passengers are sitting with their luggage in the south terminal of London Gatwick Airport, South London, on December 21, 2018. (Photo: AFP)
On Friday morning, a spokesman for Gatwick said that 91 of the 412 planned arrivals of the day had been canceled, while 64 of the 371 scheduled departures had also been removed.
The army was called Thursday to lend its support, with the Ministry of Defense deploying what was described as specialized equipment.
"Today there are a series of measures that should give passengers the assurance of being able to fly safely," US Transportation Secretary Chris Grayling told the BBC on Friday.
Government officials held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.
GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE
There have been more than 50 sightings of the aircraft or devices since the first reports to Wednesday at 9 pm and the drone's felling had been contemplated, said Jason Tingley of the Sussex Police.
"We will do everything we can to get this drone out of the sky and eliminate this disruption," he said.
Passengers wait in the south terminal of Gatwick Airport, after the reopening of the airport to flights after its forced closure due to drone activity, in Gatwick, Great Britain, December 21, 2018. REUTERS / Toby Melville
Justin Burtenshaw, chief of the Sussex and Surrey armed police, said Thursday: "Whenever we think we are approaching the operator, the drone disappears.When we seek to reopen the airfield, the drone reappears. "
The Sussex Police Assistant Police Chief, Steve Barry, said the officers were working on the theory that there was more than one drone.
Before the Friday observation at 17:10, a drone had been sighting around 22:00 Thursday.
WE ARE AT LIMBO
About 10,000 passengers were hit Wednesday night and another 110,000 were due to take off or land at the airport on Thursday on 760 flights.
Mike, of London, saw his flight canceled on Friday and will miss his connection with Ghana.
"We are in limbo, we do not really know when we are going to fly at all, because we have not been promised a delayed flight, we have not been promised more information, no compensation, nothing at all. . " "
Darcis, 32, who was scheduled to arrive from Milan on Thursday and who was to sleep at the airport, said: "I do not understand why such a small thing can force the closure of an international airport like Gatwick. should be ready for these events, I really do not understand what we can do. "
The drama dominated British newspapers on Friday, with speculation that an environmental activist was responsible.
Gatwick, located about 50 km south of the British capital, is the eighth busiest airport in Europe and lies behind Mumbai as the world's busiest single-track air hub.
Passengers wait in the south terminal of Gatwick Airport, after the reopening of the airport to flights after its forced closure due to drone activity, in Gatwick, Great Britain, December 21, 2018. REUTERS / Toby Melville
Inbound flights were diverted to other airports, including Paris, while passengers waiting to depart were facing painful delays.
Under a new British law, drones can not be flown close to an airplane, less than one kilometer from an airport or at an altitude exceeding 400 feet.
Offenders face up to five years in prison for endangering an aircraft.
The largest airlines operating in Gatwick are easyJet, British Airways and Norwegian. They stated that it was too early to determine the financial impact.
Source link
