Heathrow calls in military to track down rogue drone operator
Heathrow Airport has called in the military for assistance after a drone sighting halted departing flights from the UK’s busiest airport for around an hour yesterday evening.
Scotland Yard said a ‘full criminal investigation’ had been launched into the incident, during which police officers were able to spot the drone for themselves.
The sighting meant that all departing flights were suspended from around 17.15 to 18.15 last night, causing delays for thousands of passengers.
The disruption followed repeated sightings of drones around Gatwick just before Christmas, which led to the airport shutting down for around 32 hours.
Heathrow airport, which is also working with the Met Police, said it was monitoring the situation and apologised to passengers affected by the disruption. It said the flights were back to normal this morning.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We are deploying specialist equipment to Heathrow Airport at the request of the Metropolitan Police."
Met commander Stuart Cundy said: "We are carrying out extensive searches around the Heathrow area to identify any people who may be responsible for the operation of the drone," he said.
"The illegal operation of drones at an airfield is extremely dangerous.
"It is an offence to endanger the safety of an aircraft; anyone found guilty of this offence could face a life sentence.
"We are deploying significant resources – both in terms of officers and equipment – to monitor the airspace around Heathrow and to quickly detect and disrupt any illegal drone activity; some of which are as a result of learning from the incidents at Gatwick."
The operator of the Gatwick drone has still not been found, despite a huge police and military operation.
The British Airline Pilots’ Association has called on airports to invest in ‘drone protection technology’ immediately. General Secretary Brian Strutton, said: "The Government should ensure that every airport does so in the interests of public safety and should accelerate and strengthen its other drone legislation planned for later this year. It’s time to act swiftly and decisively.
"An aircraft or helicopter collision with a drone has the potential to be catastrophic and so it’s right that Heathrow shut until it was sure flights could take off and land safely again. While it may be frustrating for the passengers who are delayed, it’s their safety that must come first."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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