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Drone sightings shut Gatwick Airport; Army called in

When: 19 Dec 2018
Where: Gatwick Airport, England
Sources: 2 public sources

London Gatwick Airport, closed by reported drone sightings in December 2018 Chris Sampson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Reported drone sightings over the runway closed London Gatwick from the night of Dec. 19, 2018 into Dec. 21, disrupting tens of thousands of passengers. Sussex Police called it a deliberate act, and the Defence Secretary confirmed the Army was brought in to support police.

Sources

PressGatwick Airport: Drones ground flights (opens in a new tab)BBC News / 2018-12-20
PressBritish Army deploys in-country to fight rogue drones; aircraft now arriving, departing (opens in a new tab)Defense News / 2018-12-20

How sources are chosen and tiered

How the story came out

Happened 19 Dec 2018. First made public 1 year later (27 Sep 2019).

19 Dec 2018It happened (this event)
27 Sep 2019Sussex Police close the Gatwick drone investigation with no one charged - first made public
Jun 2020Sussex Police pay couple wrongly arrested over Gatwick drones

See it on the timeline: happened vs became public

Where it fits

Earlier in SightingsLarge fireball explodes over the Bering Sea18 Dec 2018 Later in SightingsDrone report halts Heathrow departures8 Jan 2019

See it on the timeline More in Sightings