London Gatwick airport shut by drone scare amid holiday rush

Passengers wait around in the South Terminal building at Gatwick Airport after drones flying illegally over the airfield forced the closure of the airport, in Gatwick, Britain, December 20, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

London’s Gatwick airport is closed to aircraft following multiple sightings of illegal drones, disrupting flights for as many as 115,000 people on one of the busiest travel days of the year. 

Lines of passengers circled the terminals Dec 20 and hundreds slept on departure hall floors as police sought to determine whether the craft were still around. As of 10.30am the airport said services would remain suspended and that it wasn’t completely happy that the situation was safe.