(UTV|COLOMBO) – Drone sightings kept London Gatwick Airport closed for a second day, derailing trips of tens of thousands of travelers ahead of Christmas, while the military was called up to assist with what local law enforcement called a “deliberate act.”
Flights were suspended as law enforcement searched for the operator of what it called an “industrial drone.”
The drones appeared to be “a deliberate attempt to disrupt flights,” said a statement from the airport, the second-busiest in the U.K. after London Heathrow. Hundreds of flights were grounded, while scores of others were diverted to other airports. London Gatwick, which serves more than 100,000 passengers a day, said disruptions would continue on Friday.
The drone flights near Gatwick’s airfield did not appear to be an act of terror, according to Sussex Police. British armed forces were called in to help local law enforcement with “specialist equipment,” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday.
Two drones were sighted near Gatwick’s airfield on Wednesday night around 9 p.m. GMT, but the airport is “still receiving drone sightings” in the area, the airport’s CEO Stewart Wingate said in a statement.
“Therefore, until we are confident that the issue has been resolved it would clearly not be in the interests of passengers to do so as we could be jeopardizing their safety,” he said.
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