To wonder about a few things with the LGW drone attack

[badlydrawnperson]

Before I get flamed (and not that anyone will resist flaming if they want to anyway). I know-

-It's not that easy
-Safety First
-People are doing their best

But I can't help wondering and idly speculating about why -

We apparently don't have any counter measures for this.
It can go on so long
We aren't seeing any News footage of the drone(s)

I am 100% NOT a conspiracy theorist but I am very curious about exactly what is going on.

Well, there'll have to be something put in place to deal with it sooner or later

If this catches on, the cost of any avoidance measures may pale against what it will cost the airlines and everyone else

Well I’ve booked a taxi to the airport tomorrow morning so I guess we’re going. DH says, “We’ll see you Boxing Day.”

When people talk of the critical national infrastructure, it is in terms of defence and attack. Just like a cyber attack causes disruotin rather than death/injury.

I am left wondering why they have ruled out terrorism so early on (intelligence on the perperpetrators, perhaps?) And whether a hobbyist could possibly have had the luck to have evaded discovery for this long.

I just saw that the drone reappeared 20 mins before the airport was due to re open. Got to be someone with inside info?!

Army has been drafted in with a statement from the head which is meant to downplay and reassure.

They fucking scan every 125ml bottle of body lotion but forget about the real security issues Exactly! If people can just fly drones into airspace won’t they just start making bomb drones instead of trying to get through security?

I just saw that the drone reappeared 20 mins before the airport was due to re open. Got to be someone with inside info?!

To quote a former air traffic controller 'people tend to notice the odd jumbo jet' - the people behind this will be watching and they have been reporting on the news when they hope to reopen the airport. It's not outside the realms of possibility that there is inside information, I thought the same myself.

What this incident shows, although it is at Gatwick, is that it is wrong to further expand Heathrow and have a higher proportion of flights from the south east from one airport. Imagine how many more people would have been inconvenienced had this happened.

I think that military bases could have been used at least for landings today- Northolt, Alconbury and Lyneham I assume are still usable? All are near major roads and not too far from rail stations.

The drone flyer(s) must know the airport- my theory is someone with a serious grudge.

Someone wanted a couple days off lol

I just hope this leads to a ban on the general public being able to use and buy drones. At least then something good will come of it.

Exactly. I’m industry they are brilliant - but for gods sake they aren’t fucking toys for idiots.

I will bet money it's environmentalists making a point.

And the bottom line will be that the flights not flying will have bought us an extra few minutes as a planet or something like that.

As someone commented upthread, they have actually probably increased overall emissions.

Couid it be straightforward extortion?

As someone commented upthread, they have actually probably increased overall emissions.

How?

Could they fire a magnetic gps /string with two rocks at it and follow it to where it lands? Or is that ridiculous?

Pickle
These drones are VERY small and VERY VERY quick
and I suspect that the person controlling it is some distance away and moving around
its a nightmare

but it also shows that "technological solutions" to complex issues should not be relied on.

@chardonnays

Lots of flights diverted to other airports further away then people making additional road and rail journeys to get home, need to fly empty planes for positioning when it's all over, really doubtful if they have saved even a gram of co2 emmisions if that was their aim.

All the planes that are now in the wrong place have generated extra emissions diverting and will also have to be flown to the right place later, plus the additional road traffic getting people into the right place now so more emissions from cars plus the environmental impact of the increased use of things like bottled water by people stranded at the airport - I think BA said they'd given out 20 thousand bottles of water last night/today? That'll be duplicated tonight/tomorrow no doubt.
I doubt it's environmentalists like Extinction Rebellion - if they were going to pull this kind of stunt it hardly fits in with their ethos, see this about what they did locally:

"Professor Colin Davis was one of a group of people who sprayed the Extinction Rebellion symbol and other slogans onto the front of the Environment Agency’s regional headquarters on Saturday.

He said they used chalk paint which can be easily cleaned off - and said it ‘felt good to be doing something’ about climate change."

Why use chalk paint one day and then the next go and do something so damaging to the environment? I assume your average university professor is capable of thinking through the environmental impact of actions taken in the name of climate change. Somebody I know knows him and he's not the irrational, impetuous type.

www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/bristol-university-professor-arrested-climate-2337948

As for alternative airports, Cambridge has a jumbo jet sized runway so in theory could be used, not sure if it has steps big enough though!

This has false flag written all over it, IMHO.

Ah I see, thanks Ta1kinpeace.

Surely if it was explosive or had anthrax on it, the person doing the battery change over would also be conspicuous in their hazmat suit 😂

I must admit, this is getting quite scary. If I was in the airport, I'd be abandoning my flight I think!

Those poor people. So many Christmasses ruined.

This is very worrying and the government/police are obviously woefully unprepared for such an event. I am intrigued to know who/what is behind this as I’ve read so many theories from the Russians to alien lifeforms to a lone genius seeking attention.

False flag?

True, many flight are diverted, but even more are cancelled.
Thousands of people not travelling to Gatwick and to the corresponding airport by car, thousands of workers journey's by car cancelled, all service vehicles not using up any fuel.

It's not the way to do to, no doubt, but I seriously don't think it's made an environmental impact on the scale of a fully functioning airport.

Of course the impact of families not being able to spend Christmas together has been serious, but that's a different matter.