Gatwick and Heathrow buy anti-drone equipment

Following the disruption at Heathrow Airport before Christmas, it has been revealed that Gatwick and Heathrow are to spend millions of pounds on anti-drone technology.

The equipment, which can detect and jam communications between a drone and its operator, was deployed by the RAF on a roof at Gatwick in December. The airport said it had spent £5 million to prevent future attacks, and Heathrow confirmed it would be buying systems.

More than 140,000 passengers at Gatwick were affected during 36 hours of chaos between 19 and 21 December, when 1,000 flights were cancelled due to drone sightings.

In Scotland, Edinburgh Airport has also said it plans to strengthen measures designed to tackle the threat posed by drones. Scotland's busiest airport, Edinburgh, has said it is working to strengthen existing security measures, with a spokesman for the airport saying that it has ‘measures in place which we have reviewed and plan to strengthen in light of the Gatwick incident’.