Gatwick airport drone chaos: Passengers tell of relief and anguish as limited flights take off after 33-hour shutdown

Passengers at Gatwick told of their relief today as flights finally began arriving and taking off after a 33-hour shutdown.

The runway reopened for a limited number of flights after being closed on Wednesday night because of drones flying inside its perimeter.

Traveller Adele Barber touched down on one of the first planes to land at the airport today — an Iceland Air flight from Lapland. She said she was “amazed” to have made it home after the trip with her children Elizabeth, James and Philip. She said: “I am amazed we made it here. If we had booked the trip for two days later then we would not have been able to go to see Santa.”

Elizabeth, six, added: “I’m glad I got to see Father Christmas. We got away before the drones.”

Engineer Steven Clifford, 36, was due to fly to Dubai for a Christmas break yesterday but was stuck at the airport overnight.

Passengers hurry through the South Terminal building at Gatwick Airport
REUTERS

He said: “Last night I was convinced the trip was off and I’d have to claw my money back for the ticket and hotel. But we started getting information through during the night that they were going to try to get some flights in the air. It was a relief to us all. Mine is still cancelled but I’m cautiously optimistic I’ll make it out today or tomorrow. It’s a trip I’ve planned for six months and I’m meeting friends out there to have Christmas in the sunshine. That was the plan at least, hopefully I can make it.”

David Bochaton, 28, a designer who lives in Coventry, was due to travel on Georgia Airlines to Tbilisi on Wednesday before the chaos struck. He has spent 30 hours in the airport and said he was relieved it is back up and running. He said: “It was a 10pm flight on Wednesday and we were stuck on the tarmac for five hours with no air conditioning and no information. Eventually we got to the terminal and it was chaos.”

Gatwick chaos - In pictures

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He was able to use his camping gear to create a makeshift bed in the corner of the North Terminal. He added: “Yesterday I got my luggage back. I was due to go camping in Georgia so had my camping stuff. I gave some of it to another family who were stuck as well, so at least they had a comfortable night.”

However hundreds of other passengers were still facing disruption and delays. Megan Santo, 32, a teacher from New York, was stranded when her flight home yesterday was cancelled.

She said: “I have never known anything like this, last night was hell. There was no information until very late, we didn’t know whether flights would take off, be delayed or if they would just cancel them completely. In the end it was the last option.”

Newlywed Hope Lauren Eder was supposed to be on honeymoon in New York but was also stranded at the airport. She told the BBC: “I saw a woman crying, someone had collapsed at the bottom of the escalator, it’s just an absolute shambles. No one’s really saying what’s going on. They’re just checking you in and then once we’re through you’ve just got to wait and hear. It’s not a guarantee that it’s going to take off.”

One father, who gave his name as Baz, said he, his wife and three children arrived at the airport yesterday to fly to Dubai for a holiday. But as his daughter Marisa, 10, sat forlornly on a suitcase wearing a Christmas hat, the family were told they would have to travel by coach to Manchester for a 3pm flight. He said: “It’s been the worst experience of my life. There was a bit of Christmas spirit but people are not happy."

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