Flights diverted from London's Gatwick Airport amid drone fears

Two easyJet flights and one British Airways flight were sent to Stansted Airport before being able to return

In December, a number of drones flying over aerospace surrounding Gatwick, forced the UK’s second-busiest airport to come to a standstill for 33 hours, disrupting 140,000 passengers’ journeys. Reuters

Three aircraft flying inbound to London’s Gatwick Airport have been diverted to Stansted Airport north of the city, after a possible drone sighting in the area.

The two easyJet flights, from Barcelona and Amsterdam, were initially sent to Stansted before taking off again to land at Gatwick.

A British Airways flight from Heraklion in Greece was also diverted. All three planes landed at Gatwick more than 90 minutes after their scheduled arrival time.

In December, drones flying in airspace over Gatwick forced the UK’s second-busiest airport to a standstill for 33 hours, disrupting 140,000 passengers’ journeys.

Chaos ensued and despite a police operation, eventually the British army were brought in to bring the situation under control.

A spokesman for Stansted Airport said that no further disruptions were expected on Sunday.

A Gatwick spokesman said: “Gatwick investigated a report of an unconfirmed sighting of an object outside the airport’s five-kilometre exclusion zone today but following a full assessment, the airport has remained fully operational throughout.”