Tom Pugh
BBC South East Digital Reporter

Passengers at Gatwick spoke of their frustration at having their flights grounded by drones.

Some, not knowing when they would fly, lay sprawled out on seats, weary of the delays. Others retreated to the busy coffee shops while monitoring their phones for news.

The atmosphere appeared calm and many airline staff were on hand giving advice to passengers on the latest updates.

It’s a vastly different picture than yesterday when the airport was overrun with frantic passengers.

This morning with so many people wanting news on whether they would be able to get away for the Christmas holidays, the staff kept a well-ordered approach.

As the morning wore on, a steady stream of travellers continued to arrive at the airport optimistic that they would eventually fly.

Gatwick says there are a total of 837 flights scheduled for today.

However:

• 64 flights that are expected to depart today have been cancelled
• 91 flights that are scheduled to arrive are being cancelled
• So, in total, 155 flights have been or will be cancelled

This was the moment a Norwegian Air flight was the first to take off on Friday after drones forced Gatwick Airport to close its runway on Wednesday evening.

Pilots' union Balpa said it understood detection and tracking equipment had been installed around Gatwick's perimeter and that if the drones reappear the airport will close again.

General secretary Brian Strutton said: "It is up to the relevant authorities to decide whether it is safe to re-open Gatwick given that the rogue drone is still around and may be expected to fly again.

"Balpa is not aware that any special advice has been given to pilots operating into or out of Gatwick and so we have this morning ensured that all our UK pilots have Balpa's advice on what to do if they see a drone while flying.

"Balpa remains extremely concerned at the risk of a drone collision. It is possible that the rogue drones may go undetected around the perimeter or could obstruct the flight paths outside the immediate detection zone.

"Given this continuing threat we have this morning issued our advice to pilots about steps to be taken if a drone is sighted."

The BBC's Paul Harrison reports that easyJet plans to operate 280 flights departing from and arriving at Gatwick today and has cancelled 49 as a result of the disruption due to the drone activity.

The airline said: "As restrictions remain in place on the number of flights taking off and landing we are asking passengers to check before they go to the airport."

Aer Lingus, meanwhile, has tweeted it intends "to operate all flights to/from Gatwick today, subject to airspace remaining open".

The airline added: "However, there are delays on all Gatwick flights so please check flight status before travelling."

Image source, PA

Tom Burridge
BBC transport correspondent

Heathrow Airport says it has a number of different anti-drone technologies in place, some of which are currently being trialled.

A spokeswoman said the airport could not comment on the specifics for security reasons but the airport does have systems to both detect drones and combat them if they were to be flown beyond the outer perimeter.

In light of events at Gatwick, Heathrow has also increased security patrols around its perimeter to complement the technologies it has at its disposal.

The type of technologies that airports can use are jamming systems which essentially knock-out the signal a drone needs to operate and a net-launching device which is used to capture a drone in mid-flight.

Image source, Reuters

Alisha Latouche-Turner: "I’m lucky to have arrived at Gatwick from Toronto but my fellow exchange students who went with a different airline scheduled for the same time had their flight cancelled and are still stuck in Toronto. Our only concern was not getting home for Christmas.

Phil Daniels: "Flying out of Gatwick today, the terminal is far quieter than I expected and we only have a 25-minute delay. My flight was scheduled for today and I'm amazed that delays aren't longer. Shame communication wasn't better. I booked flights from Manchester early this morning as at the time I had to leave Easyjet were still saying check before departing so I spent £180 on a flight from Manchester only to arrive at Gatwick to return my hire car and then discover my flight is virtually on time. Lucky I ignored the website's advice."

Ronald Diaper, 53, was due to fly to Antigua to join his family for the festive period on Thursday morning - but will now have to travel on Christmas Day.

"It's sad," he said. "I have got loads of Christmas presents in my case."

Mr Diaper said it was "complete mayhem" when he arrived at Gatwick.

"As soon as I walked in the door I knew there was a problem. There were people sitting on the floor," he said.

"Drones have been around long enough, so to cause that problem... I'm surprised there's nothing in place.

"It's taken them two days to get it. To still be affecting things in the early hours of this morning seems ridiculous."

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Colin Plummer was hoping to have a first family holiday in 10 years this Christmas, with his daughter and grandchildren set to join him and his wife in Antigua this week.

The whole family had flights booked with Virgin Atlantic, but his daughter and her family had theirs cancelled due to the disruption at Gatwick.

Mr Plummer said he phoned Virgin three times "only be told that it was not Virgin's problem that they were in no way responsible for the cancellation and there would be no compensation paid out for any trouble or cancellations".

He added: "They offered the money back plus a flight in five days time, not a word about other expenses that had been incurred.

"In fact, they were off-hand and extremely rude. I did say that as they were recording the call that they should know that I was also recording the call my end."

In response, Virgin Atlantic told the BBC: "We’re so sorry to hear of Mr Plummer’s experience and we’d like to apologise wholeheartedly to him and his family for the disruption to their holiday."

A spokesman said that as well as offering refunds for flights, customers "will also be reimbursed for reasonable costs including accommodation, transport as well as meals and refreshments."

Image source, PA

Image source, Getty Images

Here's the most recent statement from Gatwick Airport:

"Gatwick’s runway is currently available having reopened at 06:00.

"A limited number of aircraft are taking off and landing at Gatwick this morning but our departures and arrivals rate is currently very restricted to just a few runway movements every hour so passengers must expect delays and cancellations again today.

"Gatwick continues to strongly advise passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport."

Passengers due to arrive at and leave from Gatwick airport vent their frustration at cancelled flights.

BBC Future

While airports around the world will now be redoubling efforts to prevent drones affecting their services, institutions such as prisons have been struggling with them for years.

So, how do police deal with the problem?

Last year, BBC Future explained why drones and their operators can be difficult to catch.

You can read that piece here.

Scores of passengers are getting in touch with us.

Many are now on their flights - while many others are not.

Please let us know your stories. You can email us, tweet, external us or send us a message on Facebook, external.

Sofia Andren, 30, bedded down near the Christmas tree at the West Sussex airport’s south terminal after her flight to Gothenburg was cancelled.

She said she was grateful flights had been scrapped rather than have to board a plane with the unknown threat of a drone in the sky.

Ms Andren said: “I was supposed to be flying to Gothenburg at 19:15 on Thursday but I arrived here at 18:00.

“I heard rumours that some flights might be cancelled but I didn’t realise until I got here that everything was cancelled.

“And then I heard about the drones and I started to wait in the Norwegian Airlines line.

“We waited in line for hours until 22:00 when they then closed it. During that time we were offered some water by the airport staff but nothing else really.

“After that they told us they would reopen the office at 04:00 today so we decided to camp by the Christmas tree in the big hall.

“We took out our sleeping bags. We got a few hours’ sleep. At 04:00 we joined the line again.”

Ms Andren was told the earliest flight to Gothenburg would be on Christmas Day, so instead she opted to fly to Copenhagen and then plans to get the train back to her original destination.

She added: “I’m grateful that they cancelled all the flights because I wouldn’t want to be on a flight when there is some sort of threat.

“Who knows what could be inside a drone? It can seem like nothing but it could also be super dangerous.

“I would rather be safe.”

The airline advises people to check its website rather than contact it on Twitter.

Linnea Stromberg, 22, from Stockholm, was on a Gatwick-bound flight from New York which ended up being diverted to Doncaster.

“We landed in Doncaster which was a tiny little airport and they seemed surprised there when such a big plane landed.

“But they dealt with it quite well and then they put us on a bus to Gatwick," she said.

"I came here at 6pm on Thursday.

“I waited in line until 10pm then camped out by the Christmas tree."

Ms Stromberg recalled how a year ago she was due to fly to Heathrow and it was shut due to the weather.

"So I probably won’t fly through London next Christmas," she said.

“I understand that this seems like a big deal out of nothing but there was nothing really else the airport authorities could do.

“If I get on my flight, I will be grateful.”