A decision to shut Gatwick Airport’s runway for nearly an hour may have been due to a nearby release of party balloons, it has been claimed.
Plane spotters recorded footage showing a group of silver balloons near the Sussex airport shortly before bosses decided to close the runway on Sunday over a “suspected done incident”.
Gatwick Airport confirmed the runway was shut down after a pilot reported seeing what they believed to be a drone near the runway to air traffic control.
The airport did not confirm if the balloons were the cause of the shutdown. However, a spokesperson said no drone was found.
The footage of the balloons was caught on camera by London Planespotting, who told Sky News they filmed the footage from the end of the runway at around 1pm.
The runway was shut down at 1.44pm.
The group shared the video on Twitter, asking: “Was it connected?”
During the closure, 12 inbound aircraft were diverted to other airports while staff and police carried out an investigation.
The disrupted flights included a British Airways flight from Mallorca to Gatwick, diverted to Stansted Airport, and an easyJet flight from Venice, diverted to Luton Airport.
A total of seven easyJet flights to Gatwick were diverted to nearby airports during the disruption.
A spokesperson for Gatwick Airport said: “Operations at London Gatwick were suspended temporarily at 1.44pm on Sunday, while investigations into the sighting of a suspected drone close to the airfield took place.
“This investigation followed sightings from a pilot and also airfield staff about a suspected drone close to the flight path of approaching aircraft.
“Following further investigation, no drone was found and the airfield reopened at 2.35pm. All twelve aircraft that were diverted as a result of this incident returned to London Gatwick on Sunday.”
The spokesperson said the airport said the decision to close the runway followed “established procedures” for drone sightings and that passenger safety was the “absolute priority”.
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A spokesperson for Sussex Police said it also followed standard procedure for a drone sighting at the airport.
“No drones were found and no further police involvement was required,” the spokesperson added.
Gatwick Airport’s runway was shut down for 30 hours in December 2018 due to an incident involving multiple drone sightings.
The airport, Britain’s second busiest, said there were more than 100 drone sightings around the site over three days.
The 2018 incident was the first time a major airport in the UK had been shut down due to drones.
The disruption affected more than 140,000 passengers across a total of 1,000 flights.
No one has ever been charged over the incident, which Gatwick insisted was a sophisticated, malicious and well-planned attack.
As a result of the incident, the government introduced new legislation to extend no-fly zones around airports from 0.6miles (1km) to three miles.
Those who recklessly or negligently endanger an aircraft with a drone can face up to five years in jail under UK law.
