20 December 2018•Update: 20 December 2018
By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON
Thousands of passengers were stranded with flight disruptions, as one of the busiest airports in British capital remains closed on Thursday evening after drones were spotted over the runways last night.
More than 100,000 passengers were affected as flights could not resume, while incoming flights were diverted to Luton, Heathrow, Stansted and Manchester.
Sussex Police earlier said it was not a terror-related incident but a "deliberate act".
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed the military personnel have been called in to support police.
"The armed forces have a range of unique capabilities and this isn't something we would usually deploy but we are there to assist and do everything we can so that they are in a position to open the airport at the earliest opportunity," Williamson said.
Chris Woodroofe, the chief operating officer, said it was impossible to tell when flights from Gatwick Airport would resume.
Expressing sympathy for stranded passengers, Prime Minister Theresa May said her government was doing what it could.
The drones were first spotted over the runways Wednesday night. They brought all outbound flights to a halt. All incoming flights have been redirected to other airports, including Paris and Amsterdam.
Gatwick is one of a few big air travel hubs near London and a knock on effect is feared if the flights are not back to normal soon in one of the busiest times of the year.
Almost 3 million passengers are expected to use the airport in the upcoming festive period until the New Year.
