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.

They were cleared of any involvement and released without charge two days later, and later awarded compensation for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.

[2] On 19 December 2018, shortly after 9 pm, a security officer reported seeing two drones while waiting at a bus stop at Gatwick Airport: one above a vehicle, and the other above a nearby perimeter fence.

[3] This led police to believe the operator was intentionally disrupting flights, and may have access to airport radar or communication systems.

During the crisis, it had been reported that the Army had been deployed and would be using the Drone Dome – an Israeli-developed counter UAS system – at Gatwick.

[20] In April 2019, Sussex Police said the disruption was likely caused by someone with knowledge of Gatwick "operational procedures", and that the drone pilot "seemed to be able to see what was happening on the runway".

[5] On 21 December 2018, a couple from Crawley, less than two miles from Gatwick Airport,[16][22][9] were arrested on suspicion of disrupting civil aviation "to endanger or likely to endanger safety of operations or persons",[23][24] a criminal offence with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990.

[28] Speaking to the BBC on 29 December 2018, Giles York, the Chief Constable of Sussex Police, said he felt sorry for the couple but that their arrest was justified.

[3][32] The next day, following criticism of the statement, Sussex Police chief constable Giles Yorke said he was certain a drone had been used, citing 92 "credible" reports.

We have had the police, we have had the military seeking to bring this drone down for the last 24 hours and to date that has not been successful.The Civil Aviation Authority announced it considered the event to be an "extraordinary circumstance", and therefore airlines were not obliged to pay any financial compensation to passengers.

It is possible that the rogue drones may go undetected around the perimeter or could obstruct the flight paths outside the immediate detection zone.Gatwick installed an anti-drone system in November 2019,[39] Heathrow followed suit in January 2020.

managing director for home products and services, said:[41] This situation will understandably be frustrating for both the airlines and the tens of thousands of passengers travelling to and from Gatwick ahead of Christmas.

We will continue to work with the Gatwick authorities in order to bring this to a close such that people will be able to get on to the travel that they were expecting over the Christmas.In a tweet, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson had confirmed the military deployment and said: "The armed forces have a range of unique capabilities and this isn't something we would usually deploy but we are there to assist and do everything we can so that they are in a position to open the airport at the earliest opportunity.

"[7] Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told Sky News: "One of the things we're going to be doing is temporarily lifting the night-flight restrictions at other airports so more planes can get into and out of the country.

There has been growing concern over the increasing number of near misses between drones and manned aircraft and the Government has been too slow to act.

The Government should fast-track the introduction of a regulatory framework to protect against the misuse of drones and ensure the safety of UK airspace.

He should have been in the House of Commons today making a statement and explaining to MPs why the Government has failed to bring this legislation forward.On 24 December, security minister Ben Wallace announced that "The huge proliferation of such devices, coupled with the challenges of deploying military counter measures into a civilian environment, means there are no easy solutions...