Gatwick Airport shut down by a drone - Army deployed

[Fartsniffage]

The Army has deployed "specialist equipment" to Gatwick Airport as the travel chaos caused by drone activity shows no sign of abating.

It comes as Easyjet has cancelled all of its flights from Gatwick for the rest of the day.

The airline, the biggest operator at the airport, said there was "no indication" when Gatwick would reopen.

Tens of thousands of passengers on several airlines have been disrupted by drones flying over the airport.

In a tweet, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson had confirmed the military deployment.

He 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."

Gatwick's runway has been shut since Wednesday night because devices have been repeatedly flown over the airfield.

An Easyjet spokesperson said: "We are making every effort to get people to their destination at this important time of the year, but following reports of drones flying over Gatwick Airport, the runway remains closed and all flights are currently suspended."

The airline said it expected disruption to continue into Friday and is advising all passengers to check the status of their flight.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-46640033

The police have said that they don't believe it is terror related but that it is a targeted act of disruption.

I have a strong feeling that this is what the next terror attack will look like though. Why go to all the risk of a violent attack when you can shut down a major transportation hub for days and cause millions of pounds in losses with a toy?

And we really need to invest in some tech to prevent this. Apparently other nations have systems that can bring them down by blocking their control signal, how can it be we don't at one of the worlds busiest airports?

[Vassenor]

The Army has deployed "specialist equipment" to Gatwick Airport as the travel chaos caused by drone activity shows no sign of abating.

It comes as Easyjet has cancelled all of its flights from Gatwick for the rest of the day.

The airline, the biggest operator at the airport, said there was "no indication" when Gatwick would reopen.

Tens of thousands of passengers on several airlines have been disrupted by drones flying over the airport.

In a tweet, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson had confirmed the military deployment.

He 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."

Gatwick's runway has been shut since Wednesday night because devices have been repeatedly flown over the airfield.

An Easyjet spokesperson said: "We are making every effort to get people to their destination at this important time of the year, but following reports of drones flying over Gatwick Airport, the runway remains closed and all flights are currently suspended."

The airline said it expected disruption to continue into Friday and is advising all passengers to check the status of their flight.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-46640033

The police have said that they don't believe it is terror related but that it is a targeted act of disruption.

I have a strong feeling that this is what the next terror attack will look like though. Why go to all the risk of a violent attack when you can shut down a major transportation hub for days and cause millions of pounds in losses with a toy?

And we really need to invest in some tech to prevent this. Apparently other nations have systems that can bring them down by blocking their control signal, how can it be we don't at one of the worlds busiest airports?

Probably because the need wasn't identified before and the cost justified.

[Outer Heaven]

I'm going to form a Private Security Company consisting of duck hunters. I want that juicy gub'ment contract on shooting down drones.

[Purpelia]

The person who did this should be forced to pay for all the damages caused to every single passenger who lost time, money and nerves over this. Every single last one. Than he should be forced to pay the airlines for lost profits. And the military for the costs of deployment. And when that's done if there are still any organs left in his body to sell he should be made to pay for improving airport security against those like him.

[Fartsniffage]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-46640033

The police have said that they don't believe it is terror related but that it is a targeted act of disruption.

I have a strong feeling that this is what the next terror attack will look like though. Why go to all the risk of a violent attack when you can shut down a major transportation hub for days and cause millions of pounds in losses with a toy?

And we really need to invest in some tech to prevent this. Apparently other nations have systems that can bring them down by blocking their control signal, how can it be we don't at one of the worlds busiest airports?

Probably because the need wasn't identified before and the cost justified.

There have apparently been over 120 near misses between drones and aircraft near airports this year alone. And the number has be rising year on year since 2013 when there were none.

[Galloism]

Shit like this is why the FAA wants drones registered.

[Alvecia]

Probably because the need wasn't identified before and the cost justified.

There have apparently been over 120 near misses between drones and aircraft near airports this year alone. And the number has be rising year on year since 2013 when there were none.

This is pretty high profile though. Those dragging their feet will have to at least make an effort to look like they’re doing something. With any luck, that’ll actually turn out something useable.

[The Huskar Social Union]

"Dont fly drones over airports"

"What if i did tho"

[The New California Republic]

Is it any wonder that several companies are testing anti-drone drones when this kind of shit happens?

[Fartsniffage]

There have apparently been over 120 near misses between drones and aircraft near airports this year alone. And the number has be rising year on year since 2013 when there were none.

This is pretty high profile though. Those dragging their feet will have to at least make an effort to look like they’re doing something. With any luck, that’ll actually turn out something useable.

I mean, this was less than a week ago. The stories about the near misses have been hitting the headlines. I read that story because it was on the front page of the BBC.

[Aclion]

he should be forced to pay the airlines for lost profits.

Airlines have lobbied to limit the damages they have to pay when their practices, like overbooking, disrupt people's flights. Their compensation should be subject to the same limits.
Give them £500

[Alvecia]

This is pretty high profile though. Those dragging their feet will have to at least make an effort to look like they’re doing something. With any luck, that’ll actually turn out something useable.

I mean, this was less than a week ago. The stories about the near misses have been hitting the headlines. I read that story because it was on the front page of the BBC.

Eh, didn't seem to affect passengers or flights though. This certainly did, and in a big way.

[Fartsniffage]

he should be forced to pay the airlines for lost profits.

Airlines have lobbied to limit the damages they have to pay when their practices, like overbooking, disrupt people's flights. Their compensation should be subject to the same limits.
Give them £500

The airlines aren't even having to pay compensation to passengers for this delay. It falls under the special circumstances exemption in the EU rules.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Shit like this is why the FAA wants drones registered.

Not merely registered, but broadcasting their registration information. Ideally, that would be done on a separate, narrow radio band to make it straightforward to, shall we say, improve their respect for the law.

[Thermodolia]

Shit like this is why the FAA wants drones registered.

Not wants. The FAA now requires drone registration for drones that are over 0.55lbs

[Galloism]

Shit like this is why the FAA wants drones registered.

Not wants. The FAA now requires drone registration for drones that are over 55lbs

Yes, but jet engines are only certified to ingest an object between 4 and 8 pounds and keep running (depending on the engine).

[Trotskylvania]

The person who did this should be forced to pay for all the damages caused to every single passenger who lost time, money and nerves over this. Every single last one. Than he should be forced to pay the airlines for lost profits. And the military for the costs of deployment. And when that's done if there are still any organs left in his body to sell he should be made to pay for improving airport security against those like him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_proof

[Thermodolia]

Not wants. The FAA now requires drone registration for drones that are over 55lbs

Yes, but jet engines are only certified to ingest an object between 4 and 8 pounds and keep running (depending on the engine).

I misspoke. Drones over 0.55 pounds are required to be registered. It’s not that expensive to register though costs $5 and is good for 3 years

[Senkaku]

Not wants. The FAA now requires drone registration for drones that are over 55lbs

Yes, but jet engines are only certified to ingest an object between 4 and 8 pounds and keep running (depending on the engine).

And if a pound of that is plastic explosive... yike

[The New California Republic]

Yes, but jet engines are only certified to ingest an object between 4 and 8 pounds and keep running (depending on the engine).

And if a pound of that is plastic explosive... yike

Plastic explosives are very stable. You can hit it, shoot at it, drop it, and boil it and it won't explode. I'm not sure how stable it would be if it was ingested by an engine, but I bet the likes of the FBI etc have conducted tests on that sort of thing, so they'd be the ones to ask. Actually, you better not start asking those kinds of questions...

[Vassenor]

And if a pound of that is plastic explosive... yike

Plastic explosives are very stable. You can hit it, shoot at it, drop it, and boil it and it won't explode. I'm not sure how stable it would be if it was ingested by an engine, but I bet the likes of the FBI etc have conducted tests on that sort of thing, so they'd be the ones to ask. Actually, you better not start asking those kinds of questions...

To say nothing of the grunts in Vietnam who used it as fire fuel.

[Prolific Sherpaposting]

Have a flight of drones geofenced in to patrol the airspace around airports.
It shouldn’t be too hard to differentiate between birds and drones.

[Galloism]

Have a flight of drones geofenced in to patrol the airspace around airports.
It shouldn’t be too hard to differentiate between birds and drones.

That's actually harder than you think, but it doesn't matter overmuch. We can shoot both to protect airplanes.

[Fartsniffage]

Gatwick confirmed closed for the rest of the night. A full day lost when it was supposed to deal with 760 flights and about 110,000 passengers.

[Ethel mermania]

As a legal process. Find and convict the person, gather the people who missed their flights. Throw the perp to the masses.