Free Republic

Thousands of passengers were delayed, diverted or stuck on planes Thursday as the only runway at Britain’s Gatwick Airport remained closed into a second day after drones were spotted over the airfield. The airport south of London — Britain’s second-busiest by passenger numbers — closed its runway Wednesday evening after two drones were spotted. It reopened briefly at about 3 a.m. Thursday, but shut 45 minutes later after further sightings. The airport said all incoming and outgoing flights were suspended. Passengers were advised to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport, where many slept on floors...

AN exploration firm has announced the discovery of billions of barrels of oil reserves at a site near Gatwick airport. UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) said drilling of the 55-square mile site at the Weald Basin had discovered 158 million barrels per square mile. Chief executive Stephen Sanderson said the Horse Hill-1 well required appraisal and testing to prove its commercial viability but that it had “the potential for significant daily oil production”. Together with another discovery, Portland Sandstone, it was a “possible world class potential resource”. Mr Sanderson told the BBC: “We think we’ve found a very significant...

Multiple eye witnesses have claimed the problem is with the landing gear not working properly on one side. Virgin has confirmed in the last few minutes the plane is to make a 'non standard' landin

A test for Ebola has been carried out on a female passenger who died after arriving in the UK from The Gambia. The Department for Health said the test on the woman, who landed at Gatwick Airport on Saturday, came back negative on Sunday afternoon.

A man has been arrested at Gatwick Airport under anti-terrorist laws. It follows the arrest of two men near Heathrow. Gatwick's North Terminal has been closed and its flights suspended. No further details have been released by Sussex Police. Stansted Airport has announced its security is being stepped up.

Gatwick Airport passengers are to be served by 11 extra boarding gates. Transport secretary Alistair Darling opened the Pier 6 development on Monday, describing it as "a terrific new facility". It is connected to Gatwick's North Terminal by a 32m high footbridge and will be in use by the end of the week. Work on the £100m building began in 2003 and it offers 11 new pier-served aircraft stands so travellers need not go outside to reach their plane. It is estimated that 92% of North Terminal passengers will have access to this pier stand boarding, saving around 55,000...

It should have been a routine departure from Moi International Airport in Mombasa, Kenya. But on November 28, 2002, an Israeli airliner came close to disaster. As the aircraft took off, passengers and crew heard a boom and saw two white vapor trails to the left of the plane. The Arkia Airlines Boeing 757–300 narrowly escaped being shot down by two SA-7 (a.k.a. “Grail”) shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. These missile systems—Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, or Manpads—fire missiles designed to hit low-flying aircraft. Responsibility for the Mombasa attack was claimed by the shadowy “Government of Universal Palestine in Exile: The Army of...

The FBI has uncovered intelligence that al-Qa'eda terrorists are plotting to hijack an aircraft in Britain over the next two months and fly it into an important building. British Airways and other leading airlines operating in and out of Britain have been put on alert after the warning was passed to the security services. The most likely targets are aircraft taking off from Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The FBI and the American department for homeland security circulated a warning to American and British airlines on July 30, saying that terrorists working in teams of five were likely to try...

TERROR SUSPECTS HELD NEAR AIRPORT Three terror suspects have been arrested and explosive devices recovered near Gatwick airport, police have said. The three European men were detained in Langley Green near Crawley after two explosive devices were found. They are being held at an undisclosed police station in Sussex. "Three Europeans, not from this country, are currently in custody are being held under the Terrorism Act," a Sussex Police spokesman said. Police would not release any more details. More follows . . .

Three men have been arrested by anti-terrorist police after being stopped at Gatwick airport. The men aged 28, 29 and 30 were detained by immigration officials at the airport while "in transit" on Thursday at 1400GMT, Scotland Yard said. Officers from Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism branch with their Sussex police colleagues arrested the men under the Terrorism Act 2000, at 1900 GMT on Friday. They are currently in custody at a central London police station. 'No links' The arrests are not believed to be linked to the counter-terrorism raid in Manchester on Tuesday in which Special Branch officer Stephen Oake was...