London's Gatwick airport reopens after drone chaos

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London's Gatwick Airport reopened on Friday for a limited number of flights, after mysterious drone sightings caused more than 30 hours of travel chaos that left tens of thousands of passengers stranded.

British Airways confirmed on Twitter on Friday that it had received confirmation "advising the airport is back open and the majority of flights operating as scheduled."

Police said they were still hunting for the drone operator or operators and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said "military capabilities" were being deployed to safeguard the airport.

"Gatwick's runway is currently available and a limited number of aircraft are scheduled for departure and arrival," the airport said on Twitter. It advised passengers to check the status of their flights before traveling to the airport.

The airport's chief operating officer Chris Woodroofe said police have still yet to find the operator of the drones and Gatwick was only able to reopen due to the "additional mitigating measures" provided by government agencies and the military.

Police officers stand near equipment on the rooftop of a building at London Gatwick Airport, December 21, 2018. /VCG Photo

The army was called in on Thursday to offer additional support with the defense ministry deploying specialist equipment.

There have been more than 50 sightings of the device or devices since 9 p.m. on Wednesday and shooting down the drone is now an option, Jason Tingley of Sussex Police earlier told reporters.

"We will do what we can to take that drone out of the sky and remove that disruption so we can get Gatwick back to normal," he said.

Justin Burtenshaw, head of armed policing for Sussex and Surrey said on Thursday: "Each time we believe we get close to the operator, the drone disappears. When we look to reopen the airfield the drone reappears."

But authorities said there was no evidence to suggest the crippling of one of Europe's busiest airports was terror-related.

'Everyone's trying to get home for Christmas'

The drone sightings caused misery for tens of thousands of travelers who were stranded at Gatwick, many sleeping on the floor as they searched for alternative routes to holidays and Christmas family gatherings.

Gisele Fenech, 43, who was traveling to Malta, was among those stranded travelers.

"We're meeting family and it's my daughter's birthday, so it's gone all wrong. We've been looking forward to this for so long," she said. "Everyone's trying to get home for Christmas."

Around 120,000 passengers have had their flights canceled during the chaos.

A passenger prepares a sleeping aid as she waits in the South Terminal building at Gatwick Airport, December 21, 2018. /VCG Photo

Gatwick, around 50 kilometers south of London, is the eighth-busiest airport in Europe.

Inbound flights were diverted to other airports, including Paris, while passengers waiting to take off faced grueling delays as airlines cut services.

Musab Rashid, 22, who was going to Copenhagen, said: "It's wrong, it's childish of them to do this because it's affected more than 100,000 people."

Passengers wait in the South Terminal building at Gatwick Airport after the airport reopened, December 21, 2018. /VCG Photo

Two drones were first spotted flying over Gatwick at around 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The airfield briefly reopened at 3:00 a.m. on Thursday, but had to be closed again following further sightings through the day.

Under a new British law, drones cannot be flown near aircraft or within a kilometer of an airport, or at an altitude of over 400 feet (122 meters). The perpetrators could face up to five years in prison for endangering an aircraft.

(Top image: An information board displays flight information following disruption at London Gatwick Airport, December 21, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters