Over 110,000 Passengers on 760 Flights Disrupted by Drones Flying Over One of the UK's Busiest Airports (bbc.com)

Gatwick's runway has been shut since Wednesday night, when two devices were seen flying over the perimeter fence. The airport said at about 12:00 GMT on Thursday a drone had been spotted "in the last hour" and the runway would not open "until it was safe to do so". From a report: About 110,000 passengers on 760 flights were due to fly on Thursday. Disruption could last "several days". Those due to travel have been told to check the status of their flight, while Easyjet told its passengers not to go to Gatwick if their flights have been cancelled. Sussex Police said it was not terror-related but a "deliberate act" of disruption, describing the drones as of "industrial specification". The shutdown started just after 21:00 GMT on Wednesday, when two drones were spotted flying "over the perimeter fence and into where the runway operates from". The runway briefly reopened at 03:01 but was closed again about 45 minutes later amid "a further sighting of drones".

Comments

Forcing the hammer to drop

[BlacKSacrificE]

Sounds like someone trying to force the regulators hand. What better way to prompt regulation than fucking with the second largest airport in the UK at one of the busiest times of the year.

Re:Forcing the hammer to drop

[serviscope_minor]

Sounds like someone trying to force the regulators hand.

I think probably not. I mean it could be but on the one hand you've got someone being machevellian, on the other hand yu have a stupid action from a colossal army of fuckwits. My money is on the fuckwits, personally.

What goes around comes around

[Archtech]

The routine use of drones was initiated by the US government in the 1960s and 1970s. It was partly motivated by the realisation that the USSR could shoot down any aircraft - even a U-2 - and partly for reasons of cost and efficiency. Originally seen as ideal for reconnaissance and spying, they were soon modified to carry weapons.

For decades the US government was almost alone in its ability to deploy drones anywhere in the world, and thus to gain information - and optionally kill people and destroy buildings and vehicles - without the need for human presence.

Eventually other nations began to follow suit, as the cost of drone construction plummeted and the technical prerequisites became common knowledge.

And today we are beginning to see the ramifications develop. Apparently the UK government and the airport authorities never gave a moment's thought to the possibility that drones might be used systematically to interfere with airline operations - or even to shut down whole airports, much as a Web site is shut down by a denial of service attack.

It is interesting to think about what will come next. For a start, the nations that have traditionally felt immune to attack must think again. If drones can close down Gatwick Airport without any overt hostile acts, why should they not drop bombs on government offices or strafe roads and railways? Maybe even individuals with uneasy consciences may begin to feel happier under cover.