Londons gatwick airport reopens after day long shutdown due to drones
Yes, you're referring to the recent incident at London's Gatwick Airport. Here's a summary of what happened:
On December 19, 2018, Gatwick Airport in London was forced to shut down for nearly 24 hours due to a drone sighting. The airport was closed at around 9 pm local time on December 19 and remained shut until 6 am on December 20.
The shutdown was caused by reports of multiple drone sightings in the vicinity of the airport, which led to concerns about the potential risk to air traffic. The airport's air traffic control system was suspended, and all flights were grounded.
The incident was a major disruption, with over 1,000 flights affected and around 140,000 passengers stranded. The airport's management and authorities worked to try and resolve the situation, but the drones continued to be spotted, and the airport remained closed.
The police and military were called in to help deal with the situation, and a cordon was set up around the airport. The authorities used a range of tactics to try and locate and disable the drones, including using radar and thermal imaging technology.
Eventually, the drones were spotted again at around 3 am on December 20, and the airport was reopened. The incident was declared over, and flights began to resume.
The cause of the drone sightings is still unclear, and an investigation is ongoing. The incident has raised concerns about the potential risks posed by drones to air traffic and the need for better measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
It's worth noting that this was not the first time that drones have caused disruptions to air traffic. There have been several similar incidents in recent years, and the issue is becoming increasingly important for airports and authorities around the world.