Gatwick Airport flights have been rerouted and delayed after reports of drones

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Flights from Gatwick Airport were grounded this afternoon due to reports of drone activity near the airspace.

At least 12 flights arriving from Gatwick Airport were diverted for about an hour while an investigation into the suspected drone took place.

One of the departing passengers, Tarquin Cooper, tweeted: “Did you know Gatwick is closed due to drone activity? Been sitting on the tarmac for the past hour.”

Seven of EasyJet’s arrivals have been diverted – five to Luton, one to Southend and one to Bristol.

British Airways’ arrival from Faro and Palma landed instead at Stansted. Essex airport was also an unexpected destination for passengers flying on Vueling planes from Rome, TUI from Kavala and Turkish Airlines from Istanbul.

With planes and pilots out of position, and dozens of planes delayed leaving Sussex airport, the disruption will continue for the rest of the day. The busiest airport in the world, Gatwick has a slight slack when schedules collapse.

Passengers are not entitled to monetary compensation for such delays, as the disruption is outside the airlines’ control. but should they be late for the night, they shall be provided with lodgings and meals as necessary.

Flights from Gatwick Airport were grounded this afternoon due to reports of drone activity

(Getty Images)

A Gatwick spokesperson said: “Passenger safety is the airport’s absolute priority and – following procedures in place – operations at London Gatwick were temporarily suspended at 1.44pm while investigations were carried out into the sighting of a suspected drone near the airport.

“These investigations have now [been] Completed and the airport reopened at 2.35pm.

“Twelve aircraft arriving at other airports have been diverted during the investigation, however, we expect many of them to return to London Gatwick today.”

Meanwhile, thousands of commuters seeking to travel between London and Paris have seen their trains canceled due to strikes in France.

Four flights from St Pancras International to Gare du Nord in the French capital were canceled during the afternoon and evening, with the same number from Paris to London cancelled.

Eurostar tells passengers: “Due to a brief industrial strike in France we have had to cancel some trains today. Our trains and stations are very busy. Please come to stations only if your train is scheduled to run. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

In December 2018, 120,000 passengers were affected by delays and cancellations due to frequent drone flights over Gatwick Airport, with all flights suspended for at least 33 hours before the Christmas holidays.

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