London's Gatwick airport is taking strides towards running a full schedule of flights following days of major disruptions because of drone sightings that led to two arrests.
The sudden halt to operations this week led to the cancellation or diversion of about 1000 flights and affected about 140,000 people trying to travel ahead of the Christmas holiday, an airport spokesman told dpa.
"Our runway is open and we aim to run a full schedule on Saturday 22 December," a statement on the airport website said early on Saturday.
"Passengers should expect some delays and cancellations as we continue to recover our operations following three days of disruption and are advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport," the statement added.
A police officer remains on duty outside a home in Auckland Close, Crawley, West Sussex Source: AAP
The announcement came hours after Sussex police announced that two people were arrested late on Friday over the "criminal use of drones".
Sussex Police said the two people arrested were a 47-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman and were detained in Crawley, a town about 8 kilometres away from the airport.
Police commissioner James Collins said investigations were ongoing and was not able to give information about the suspects' motives.
The incursions - some 40 drone sightings were made in total - have severely impacted flight operations at London's second-largest airport, which is also the seventh-largest in Europe.
"We continue to urge the public, passengers and the wider community around Gatwick to be vigilant and support us by contacting us immediately if they believe they have any information that can help us in bringing those responsible to justice," Sussex police said.
Flights had resumed at Gatwick airport on Friday evening despite another confirmed sighting of a drone, an airport spokeswoman said.
"Military measures" had been put in place that "provided us with reassurance necessary to reopen our airfield," the airport said.
Police said on Friday that is was possible that multiple people were operating the drones, as they believe multiple drones are being used, PA reported.
Speaking on Friday, chief executive of the airport Stewart Wingate said the drone flights were "highly targeted" and have "been designed to close the airport and bring maximum disruption in the run-up to Christmas.
"These events obviously highlight a wider strategic challenge for aviation in this country which we need to address together with speed - the aviation industry, Government and all the other relevant authorities," the PA quoted Wingate as saying.
"It cannot be right that drones can close a vital part of our national infrastructure in this way," he added.
Police have said there is no indication of terrorism.
Flying a drone within one kilometre of an airport or airfield boundary was made illegal in Britain in July, but aviation officials and MPs have called for a 5km exclusion zone.
PA reported that an Israeli-developed system was in use at Gatwick, which can detect drones via radar and jam communications between drone and operator.
