Delays at Heathrow after drone causes runway closure
Written by News on 08/01/2019
Flights have resumed at Heathrow Airport after departures were cancelled when a drone sighting was reported.
It is understood that the northern runway was closed, while the other one remained open.
Scotland Yard said it “received reports of a sighting of a drone in the vicinity of Heathrow airport” at about 5.05pm.
It added that “officers based at Heathrow” were investigating, along with colleagues from the airport.
The airport tweeted that it was “working closely with the Met Police to prevent any threat to operational safety”.
It added: “We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience this may cause.”
One traveller, Simon, tweeted that he was on a plane waiting to take off and there was a “police helicopter over the runway”.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the military was “preparing to deploy the equipment used at Gatwick at Heathrow quickly should it prove necessary”.
Gatwick was severely disrupted shortly before Christmas when drones were sighted on three consecutive days. About 1,000 flights were cancelled or diverted, affecting 140,000 passengers.
Heathrow recently said it was looking at technology to combat the threat of drones.
Under new rules announced earlier on Tuesday, drones will have to stay further away from airports.
Airport exclusion zones will be extended to about 5km (three miles) from the current 1km, with additional extensions at runway ends.
Drone users can be fined or even jailed if they fly a drone within these zones.
(c) Sky News 2019: Delays at Heathrow after drone causes runway closure
