Laughable additional security driving into South Terminal this morning. One lane shut so (another) traffic holdup as plod slowly walks across the road between each car, presumably checking we had no drones on the roof rack? Dur, they were in the boot. Seriously though, let’s hope it dies my get closed again until at least Thursday huh
Are these security checks still in place does anyone know?
If so is it just for the drop off / collection points or for getting into parking for those flying out as well?
My parents are off to Madeira on Friday so be ideal if I can let them know about any additional delays that mean they might want to leave for the Airport a little earlier than normal
To be honest the “smart motorway” roadworks nonsense will be far more of a delay than the Po-Po lip service if it’s even still there, I’ll keep an eye out for it laters...
Cheers
No dramas, do remember that the whole M23 stretch from the M25 to shatwick is 50mph max though and is proper poops if you’re travelling at rush hour
I didn't hear any conspiracies before, just people coming up with their own theories and trying to make heads or tails out of what was, a strange story.
I didn't hear any conspiracies before, just people coming up with their own theories and trying to make heads or tails out of what was, a strange story.
I didn't hear any conspiracies before, just people coming up with their own theories and trying to make heads or tails out of what was, a strange story.
What is a conspiracy where you come from then?
Sorry, I thought a conspiracy theory were more outlandish than a simple theory?
I didn't hear any conspiracies before, just people coming up with their own theories and trying to make heads or tails out of what was, a strange story.
What is a conspiracy where you come from then?
Sorry, I thought a conspiracy theory were more outlandish than a simple theory?
It's one where the author provides no rational back up for his or her assertions. E.g. @nth london addick . he asserted, quite reasonably "there ain't no drone" but then went on to suggest that it was because some far more serious terrorist threat was actually being dealt with.
I didn't hear any conspiracies before, just people coming up with their own theories and trying to make heads or tails out of what was, a strange story.
What is a conspiracy where you come from then?
Sorry, I thought a conspiracy theory were more outlandish than a simple theory?
It's one where the author provides no rational back up for his or her assertions. E.g. @nth london addick . he asserted, quite reasonably "there ain't no drone" but then went on to suggest that it was because some far more serious terrorist threat was actually being dealt with.
I didn't hear any conspiracies before, just people coming up with their own theories and trying to make heads or tails out of what was, a strange story.
What is a conspiracy where you come from then?
Sorry, I thought a conspiracy theory were more outlandish than a simple theory?
It's one where the author provides no rational back up for his or her assertions. E.g. @nth london addick . he asserted, quite reasonably "there ain't no drone" but then went on to suggest that it was because some far more serious terrorist threat was actually being dealt with.
So what's wrong with that?
Such an idea goes against all UK government practice in handling terrorist threats, especially at airports, where maximum visible force is displayed, (partly to "reassure" the public and "send a message to terrorists") and certainly would not fit with what happened when LGW was opened and then closed again. Under NLA's scenario the army elite would be in charge and they wouldn't make a cock-up like that, would they?
I didn't hear any conspiracies before, just people coming up with their own theories and trying to make heads or tails out of what was, a strange story.
What is a conspiracy where you come from then?
Sorry, I thought a conspiracy theory were more outlandish than a simple theory?
It's one where the author provides no rational back up for his or her assertions. E.g. @nth london addick . he asserted, quite reasonably "there ain't no drone" but then went on to suggest that it was because some far more serious terrorist threat was actually being dealt with.
So what's wrong with that?
Such an idea goes against all UK government practice in handling terrorist threats, especially at airports, where maximum visible force is displayed, (partly to "reassure" the public and "send a message to terrorists") and certainly would not fit with what happened when LGW was opened and then closed again. Under NLA's scenario the army elite would be in charge and they wouldn't make a cock-up like that, would they?
I'm not saying I agree with his theory, I just can't see what's wrong with him posting it without others getting their knickers in a twist
Police saying that shooting it down would just be too dangerous. I’m no expert and have to accept that explanation but it seems odd to me that a special or even not so special marksman with a suitable weapon ought to be able to shoot down a drone.
I’m sure someone with greater knowledge will be able to tell me I’m wrong.
Or just make sure people are inside and no aeroplanes airbourne and just shoot it down, doesn't seem very difficult. But admittedly i dont even understand why it has caused this much drama other than being a potential threat
It's quite difficult if you can't see it. I imagine it's difficult to keep track of a drone within a 674 hectare area of land. And, once it's spotted, you'd have to hope it didn't move by the time a police marksman arrived. I don't know much about drones, but one thing I do know is that they're very mobile.
There may be more than one. And if one is spotted and lost sight of, it's probably best to assume that it's still in the air somewhere. (Would you want to be the copper who tells air traffic control "we have lost sight of it, so you're probably ok to carry on flying. Hopefully it's not still up there and hopefully it won't bring down any planes"?)
I feel confident in saying that the British Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Services can muster more than one marksman in order to dot them around the Gatwick site.
Having given it thought I suspect that there is more to this delay in ridding the area of the drones.
My guess is that shooting them down would only rid this particular threat. By keeping them up in the air and trying to capture the perpetrators you reduce the risk of the terrorists just pitching up with new drones in a month or so.
Airlines are also raking it in today, surely.
No need to issue refunds and saving a fortune on fuel.
less operational costs, aircraft in the wrong place that will eventually need to fly empty to reposition (zero revenue) , the need to accommodate and feed all passengers. This will be costing airlines a small fortune, which they wont recoup.
@Stu_of_Kunming Just to confirm that airlines didn't "rake it in"...Easy Jet stating that the two days of disruption cost it around £15 million.
"The repeated sightings of drones at the Sussex airport caused flights to be cancelled for nearly two days in December costing easyJet around £5 million from cancelled flights and lost revenue, plus another £10 million in “customer welfare” costs. The airline was forced to cancel more than 400 flights due to the drone disruption, which affected 82,000 of easyJet’s customers".
The press articles were generated by BBC Panorama who covered it last night. 30 minutes of my life I won't get back. Told us basically sweet fa. It sort of points us more clearly towards the "bitter ex-employee" theory, but basically plod hasn't got a clue, and neither has Panorama. Panorama used to be good.
The press articles were generated by BBC Panorama who covered it last night. 30 minutes of my life I won't get back. Told us basically sweet fa. It sort of points us more clearly towards the "bitter ex-employee" theory, but basically plod hasn't got a clue, and neither has Panorama. Panorama used to be good.
If they used a drone they would get a much better panorama.
The spokesman for Gatwick said that he had 100 trained staff who witnessed the drone. Surely, one or two of them would have had mobile phones to video it. Or, did I hear that wrongly? I’m beginning to believe there was no drone.
The spokesman for Gatwick said that he had 100 trained staff who witnessed the drone. Surely, one or two of them would have had mobile phones to video it. Or, did I hear that wrongly? I’m beginning to believe there was no drone.
From the link provided by Covered End above...
Despite nearly 70 drone sightings reported in the space of a few hours, no photographic evidence exists that shows a drone above the airfield. This fuelled speculation that there may never have been one, but this was vehemently denied by the airport chief.
Mr Woodroofe told the BBC that many of the drone sightings were by people he knew personally and trusted - "members of my team, people I have worked with for a decade, people who have worked for thirty years on the airfield, who fully understand the implications of reporting a drone sighting
Comments
That's why.
Let the conspiracies re-commence...
Good luck with stopping that using conventional means.
If they genuinely use 4G rather than radio to control them then the only way I can think of would be a selective data jammer.
Pick up the drone, work out what signal it was being controlled by, jam the signal and try and trace the controller at the same time.
Doesn’t sound like the sort of equipment conventional police would run.
@Stu_of_Kunming Just to confirm that airlines didn't "rake it in"...Easy Jet stating that the two days of disruption cost it around £15 million.
"The repeated sightings of drones at the Sussex airport caused flights to be cancelled for nearly two days in December costing easyJet around £5 million from cancelled flights and lost revenue, plus another £10 million in “customer welfare” costs. The airline was forced to cancel more than 400 flights due to the drone disruption, which affected 82,000 of easyJet’s customers".
All is now explained. It was Gavin Williamson testing for the possible future deployment of his drone ‘swarm squadrons’
The camera on the drone didn't give them a clue then?
I'm also told that the upcoming horizon programme will be far better and far better informed regards the tech. No idea when it airs though.
I didn't watch panorama, as I had the in laws down. That bad?