Unauthorised drones near airfield delay two flights on Monday night, MoD confirms

Unauthorised drones flying near the airfield prevented two flights from taking off on time last night.

The MoD has confirmed to GBC drones were seen in the vicinity of the Gibraltar Airport.

A spokesperson said the flights were temporarily held as a precaution. Some passengers reported delays of up to two hours.

Unathorised drones flying near airspace is a growing issue. With drone technology evolving quickly, the response to these situations needs to evolve too. 

The main risk is if these drones were to collide with an aircraft.

Monday night’s EasyJet flights to London Gatwick and Manchester were delayed on the tarmac, following a sighting of drones near the airport.

The MoD told GBC the flights were temporarily held as a precaution until airspace was confirmed as clear.

It says that it takes threats seriously and maintains robust measures at defence sites.

EasyJet told GBC that “Due to the temporary closure of the Gibraltar runway yesterday it meant that two departing flights from Gibraltar to Gatwick and Manchester were delayed”

Both flights did eventually leave the Rock.

The airline says the issue was out of its control but apologises to its customers.

Unathorised drones flying near airspace is a growing issue for airports around the world and no airport is immune to the disruption they could cause.

The main concern is if these drones were to collide with an aircraft.

In Gibraltar, flying a drone without permission from the Government is an offence.

For its part, the RGP confirmed that it was deployed to the incident along with the GDP. The RGP told GBC several searches were conducted however failed to identify any drone operators.