London’s Gatwick Airport said late on Friday afternoon that it had closed its runways again after new, unconfirmed reports of a drone near the transport hub, Euronews reports.
But flights were only paused briefly while authorities investigated the sighting. The airfield was quickly re-opened.
It comes after chaos ensued on Wednesday night and throughout Thursday when the devices were spotted near runway.
The airport, south of London, reopened earlier on Friday and had started to introduce a limited number of flights.
The first flight of the morning was en route to Lapland — passengers aboard Lapland-bound flights tweeted their excitement after finally arriving.
@Gatwick_Airport Thank you guys… It’s a difficult time and you made our Christmas come true ???❄️ #wemadeit #lapland2018 #thankyou pic.twitter.com/Z6bzTHDCtG
— Rachael Patterson (@rachpmotorsport) December 21, 2018
British Airways said earlier on Friday that it had received confirmation from Gatwick that the airport was back open and “the majority of flights (were) operating as scheduled.”
Easyjet said its services would resume but departures and landings would be restricted at first.
The airport advised passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport as departures and arrivals “will be subject to delays and cancellations.”
Chris Woodroofe, the airport’s chief operating officer, said the operator had not yet been found, but extra security measures in place ensured the airport could reopen.
Speaking of those extra safety measures, Transport Minister Chris Grayling told the BBC “military capabilities” had been deployed.
“What’s happening on the ground is a mix of measures taken to give confidence that aircraft can be safe… Some of those are military capabilities,” Grayling said.
“The reality is that this technology is only just emerging… there certainly isn’t a straightforward commercial, off-the-shelf solution that automatically solves all problems.”
Thousands of passengers remain stranded at the airport as police continue their search for the operator of the drones.
The British military announced they had deployed specialist equipment to tackle the presence of drones at the airport — the UK’s second biggest.
Flight suspensions hit 10,000 passengers on Wednesday evening and a further 110,000 were due to take-off or land at the airport on Thursday.
Gatwick initially announced that its runway was closed for six hours from 21h GMT on Wednesday after two drones were spotted.
It re-opened for a mere 44 minutes before being shut down again after a further sighting of the devices.
“Unfortunately, this has led to a number of flights being diverted to other airports while aircraft have also been unable to depart from Gatwick,” the airport said in the statement. “Our airlines are working to provide affected passengers with hotel accommodation or transport passengers landing at other airports to Gatwick by other means, and Gatwick staff are looking after passengers in our terminals.”
More than 20 police units from two forces were searching for those responsible.
Sussex Police said it believed the incidents over the airfield were deliberate but said there are “absolutely no indications to suggest this is terror-related”.
“Each time we believe we get close to the operator, the drone disappears; when we look to reopen the airfield, the drone reappears,” said the force’s Superintendent Justin Burtenshaw.
“Public safety is paramount and we will take all available actions to disrupt this deliberate act,” the force added.
Chris Woodroofe, Gatwick’s chief operating officer, told BBC radio that it would be dangerous to shoot at the drone due to the danger of stray bullets.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said that the drone activity in Gatwick was “illegal” and expressed sympathy for affected passengers.
Thousands of stranded passengers
Thousands of passengers were affected by the delays at Gatwick Airport and many were forced to wait aboard their aircraft for long periods of time.
Still waiting for my flight to depart from @Gatwick_Airport – waiting for security checks on runway due to drone reports… pic.twitter.com/OB3K3eJJnq
— John Belo (@johnbelo) December 19, 2018
Some airline passengers reported heightened tensions on some diverted flights, resulting in police involvement.
Several passengers on flight TOM687 just making this ordeal sonawful, abusive to staff , shouting at other passengers ! Police here now ! #GatwickAirport pic.twitter.com/tRdhyLOdsZ
— Lyndsey Clarke (@LyndseyClarke10) December 20, 2018