Gatwick airport reopens 24-hours after a strange flying drone forced it to shut down

Britain's Gatwick Airport reopened today after a rogue drone saboteur caused travel chaos for thousands of Christmas travellers by playing cat-and-mouse with police snipers and the army.  

After the biggest disruption at Britain's second busiest airport, Gatwick said its runway was open and that a limited number of aircraft were scheduled for departure and arrival.

"Gatwick's runway is currently available and a limited number of aircraft are scheduled for departure and arrival. Gatwick continues to advise passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport as departures and arrivals will be subject to delays and cancellations" the airport said.

Flights were halted at 2103 GMT on Wednesday after two drones were spotted near the airfield. It is illegal to fly drones within 1 km (0.6 mile) of a British airport boundary, punishable by five years in prison.  With a surge in public enthusiasm for drones, there has been an increase in near-collisions by unmanned aircraft and commercial jets in recent years.  

The number of near misses between private drones and aircraft in Britain more than tripled between 2015 and 2017, with 92 incidents recorded last year, according to the UK Airprox Board regulator.