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21st Dec 2018

Flights grounded again as drone suspected of returning to Gatwick Airport

James Dawson

The first sighting of a drone occurred on Wednesday night

Chaos has once again descended on Gatwick Airport with another “suspected drone sighting” leading to flights being suspended.

A spokeswoman for the airport told the BBC: “We are just hearing a report of another drone sighting that we are investigating.

“As we look into it we have taken the precaution of suspending flights.”

Aircraft have reportedly been forced to circle above the airport as they are unable to land, the first sighting occurred at 5.10pm.

The drones were first spotted at around 9pm on Wednesday and the airport was closed at 9.03pm. It was reopened at 3.01am on Thursday morning but closed again at 3.45am following a further sighting.

Planes were stopped from flying in and out of the Gatwick for around 36 hours only to be reopened again on Friday morning.

Officers still do not know who was behind the disruption, however, they have said “persons of interest” have been identified.

If you’re flying to or from Gatwick, various airlines are encouraging passengers to check with the status of their flight before travelling.

More to follow…