Gatwick drone pilot may be ‘insider’

The drone attack that caused chaos at Gatwick before Christmas was carried out by someone with knowledge of the airport’s operational procedures, the airport has said.

A Gatwick chief has said the drone’s pilot “seemed to be able to see what was happening on the runway” in an interview for the BBC’S Panorama. Sussex Police told the programme the possibility an “insider” was involved was a “credible line” of inquiry.

About 140,000 passengers were caught up in the disruption. The runway was closed for 33 hours between 19 and 21 December last year – causing about 1,000 flights to be cancelled or delayed.

Gatwick’s chief operating officer, Chris Woodroofe, said: “It was clear that the drone operators had a link into what was going on at the airport.”