Gatwick Airport drone incident
Between 19 and 21 December 2018, hundreds of flights were cancelled at Gatwick Airport near London, England, following reports of drone sightings close to the runway. With 140,000 passengers and 1,000 flights affected, it was the biggest disruption at Gatwick since its closure following the 2010 volcano eruptions in Iceland.
Gatwick Airport in 2012 | |
| Date | 19–21 December 2018 |
|---|---|
| Location | Gatwick Airport, West Sussex, England |
| Coordinates | 51°08′53″N 000°11′25″W |
| Cause | Reports of drone activity within 1 km (0.62 mi) of the airport boundary |
| Outcome | ~140,000 passengers affected ~1,000 flights diverted/cancelled |
| Arrests | 2; both suspects released without charge |
On 21 December, Sussex Police arrested two people who lived near the airport. They were cleared of any involvement and released without charge two days later, and later awarded compensation for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment. In April 2019, Sussex Police said the disruption could have been an inside job. No culprit or evidence of drones was found; some commentators have suggested there was no drone, and that the incident may have been caused by mass panic. Police maintain the incident was a malicious attack.