Last week’s poll: preventing drone flying in sensitive areas

Drone sightings at Gatwick Airport grounded flights and caused major delays to thousands of travellers hoping to get away during the 2018 Yuletide break.

First sightings were reported on December 19, with the airport adamant that ‘there were multiple confirmed sightings of drone activity at the airport’. The airport announced resumption of flights on December 21, adding that its ‘patrols and surveillance systems…have provided us with reassurance necessary that it is safe to re-open our airfield’.

Gatwick reported that it was back to a full schedule of 785 flights by December 22, but the airborne threat reappeared again last week when Heathrow Airport temporarily halted flights following the sighting of a drone.

According to the Metropolitan Police, ‘significant resources, both in terms of officers and equipment, were deployed to monitor the airspace around Heathrow and quickly detect and disrupt any illegal drone activity’.

“Our priority is keeping the airspace over London's airports safe for the thousands of planes flying in and out every week,” said Met Police Commander Stuart Cundy. "Any deliberate acts to endanger the airfield and aircraft are serious offences that can carry lengthy prison sentences. If flown into the path of an aircraft, a drone has the potential to cause great harm to those on-board. Anyone caught illegally operating drones will be dealt with robustly.”