Police consider possibility Gatwick drone sightings were a mistake after pair released

British police have released two people arrested in relation to the drones that disrupted operations at Gatwick Airport, conceding there may have been no "genuine drone activity in the first place".

The drones flown over Gatwick Airport crippled operations for three days.

The drones flown over Gatwick Airport crippled operations for days Source: AAP

A man and a woman arrested over the drone disruption that brought Christmas getaway flights to a standstill at London's Gatwick Airport were released without charge on Sunday, police said.

A 47-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman from the town of Crawley, near Britain's second-busiest airport, were arrested on Saturday.

The police swooped after three days of disruption from Wednesday to Friday, affecting 140,000 passengers.

"Both people have fully co-operated with our enquiries and I am satisfied that they are no longer suspects in the drone incidents at Gatwick," Sussex Police detective chief superintendent Jason Tingley said in a statement.




Drones were sighted buzzing around the airfield more than 50 times, forcing the government to bring in specialist military resources to help counter the threat.

But Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley told the BBC police had not obtained footage of a drone and there was "always a possibility" the sightings of drones were mistaken. 

The dangers posed by drones include the possibility of a device smashing into a passenger plane or being sucked up into an engine where its highly flammable lithium battery could cause a catastrophe.

"Our inquiry continues at a pace to locate those responsible for the drone incursions, and we continue to actively follow lines of investigation," said Tingley.

"We ask for the public's continued support by reporting anything suspicious, contacting us with any information in relation to the drone incidents at 

The airport has offered a £50,000 ($63,000, 56,000 euro) reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the disruption.




Under recently-introduced laws in Britain, drones cannot be flown near aircraft or within a kilometre (about half a mile) of an airport, or at an altitude of over 400 feet (122 metres).

Violators face up to five years in prison for endangering an aircraft.

Gatwick, around 30 miles (50 kilometres) south of the British capital, is the eighth-busiest airport in Europe and sits behind Mumbai as the world's busiest single-runway air hub.

On its website, Gatwick said its runway was open and it aimed to run a full schedule over the weekend.

Passengers were warned to expect some delays and cancellations as their airport tried to recover its operations.

"Safety is Gatwick's top priority and we are grateful for passengers' continued patience as we work to get them to their final destination in time for Christmas," the airport said.


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Source: AFP, SBS

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Police consider possibility Gatwick drone sightings were a mistake after pair released | SBS News