Drones paralyze British airport, grounding Christmas travellers

Britain sent troops to its second-biggest airport after an unprecedented attempt to cripple Christmas travel with large drones forced all flights to be cancelled Thursday. As thousands of passengers waited at Gatwick Airport, south of London, police hunted unsuccessfully for the operators of the large drones which reappeared near the airfield every time the airport tried to reopen the runway. Police said there was no indication of a terrorism motive behind the devices, which first appeared on Wednesday night. “The assessment earlier on today was that we wouldn’t be using firearms,” Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said late Thursday. “This is continually reviewed so you will know and have seen that we have firearm officers deployed.” Europe’s air traffic control agency Eurocontrol said the airport would remain closed until 0600 GMT on Friday. The armed forces were also deployed to help resolve the situation. “We are there to assist and do everything we can,” Defence Minister Gavin Williamson said. Drones were seen as recently as the last hour, a Gatwick spokesman said at about 2200 GMT on Thursday, more than 24 hours after their first sighting. The airport said flights would remain shut down for the rest of the evening on a day when 115,000 people were scheduled to pass through, many en route to seasonal breaks. Police said more than 20 units were hunting the operators near Gatwick airport.<br/>