Heathrow Airport, one of the world’s busiest, halts departures after drone sighting

Jan. 8, 2019 / 6:42 PM GMT

By David K. Li

All departures out of London’s Heathrow Airport were halted on Tuesday after a drone was spotted flying near one of the world’s busiest airports, officials said.

“We are responding to a drone sighting at Heathrow and are working closely with the Met Police to prevent any threat to operational safety,” the airport tweeted at 12:47 p.m. ET (5:47 p.m in London).

We are responding to a drone sighting at Heathrow and are working closely with the Met Police to prevent any threat to operational safety. As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate. We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience this may cause.

— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) January 8, 2019

“As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate,” the post continued.

The shutdown comes in the wake of similar problems at nearby Gatwick Airport just outside of London before Christmas.

Heathrow is the world’s fifth-busiest airport, with 78 million passengers using it in 2017, according to industry newsletter Airport Technology. The busiest airport is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the journal said.