Drone Sightings Halt Flights At London's Gatwick Airport
CHICAGO (CBS)--Gatwick Airport is closed after drones were spotted near the airfield.
The airport shut down Wednesday around 3:30 p.m. (Chicago time) when two drones were seen flying in the airspace.
It reopened a few hours later, only to close again after 45 minutes when more drones were seen.
14.15: Our runway is still closed because of drone sightings. Flights are cancelled up to at least 16.00 today, while we constantly review the situation. Please do not set out for the airport for your flight without checking with your airline first. We're sorry for the disruption
— Gatwick Airport LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) December 20, 2018
Flights are being diverted to other airports.
At least 10,000 passengers have been impacted.
Police are searching for the drone operators, according to a post from Sussex Police on Twitter.
#GatwickDrones | The #drone image in our previous tweets was used for illustrative purposes only and not the devices being sought. It is believed that the #Gatwick devices used are of an industrial specification. We are continuing to search for the operators pic.twitter.com/NBW6Oh1M3c
— Sussex Police (@sussex_police) December 20, 2018