INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
The travel plans of about 140,000 people were disrupted as a result of the
drone attack
The drone attack that caused chaos at Gatwick before Christmas was carried out by someone with knowledge of the
airport's operational procedures, the airport has said.A Gatwick chief told TheIndianSubcontinent Panorama the drone's pilot "seemed to be
able to see what was happening on the runway".Sussex Police told the programme the possibility an "insider" was involved was a "credible
line" of inquiry.About 140,000 passengers were caught up in the disruption.The runway at the UK's second busiest airport was closed for 33
hours between 19 and 21 December last year - causing about 1,000 flights to be cancelled or delayed.In his first interview since the
incident, Gatwick's chief operating officer, Chris Woodroofe, told Panorama: "It was clear that the drone operators had a link into what was
going on at the airport."Image caption
Chris Woodroofe led Gatwick's response to the attack
Mr
Woodroofe, who was the executive overseeing the airport's response to the attack - the "gold commander" - also said that whoever was
piloting the drone could either see what was happening on the runway, or was following the airport's actions by eavesdropping on radio or
And whoever was responsible for the attack had "specifically selected" a drone which could not be seen by the DJI Aeroscope drone detection
system that the airport was testing at the time, he added.'No overreaction'Despite a huge operation drawing resources from five other forces
Sussex Police says its investigation is ongoing and expected to take "some months to complete".The first sighting of the drone was at 21:03
GMT on 19 December but it was not until 05:57 GMT on 21 December that flights resumed with an aircraft landing.Gatwick says it repeatedly
tried to reopen the runway but on each occasion the drone reappeared.Airport protocol mandates that the runway be closed if a drone is
present.Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
The military deployed equipment at the airport after the drone
sightings
Mr Woodroofe denied claims the airport overreacted, describing the situation it faced as an unprecedented,
"malicious" and "criminal" incident."There is absolutely nothing that I would do differently when I look back at the incident, because
ultimately, my number one priority has to be to maintain the safety of our passengers, and that's what we did
"It was terrible that 140,000 people's journeys were disrupted - but everyone was safe."Mr Woodroofe also dismissed the suggestion that the
number of sightings had been exaggerated - and a theory, circulating online, that there had been no drone at all
These claims have been fuelled by the fact that there are no verified pictures of the drone, and very few eyewitnesses have spoken
publicly.Police told the TheIndianSubcontinent they had recorded 130 separate credible drone sightings by a total of 115 people, all but six
of whom were professionals, including police officers, security personnel, air traffic control staff and pilots
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Gatwick's runway was shut for 33 hours
Image copyrightGetty
ImagesImage caption
About 1,000 flights were cancelled or delayed
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage
caption
The runway reopened on the morning of 21 December
Mr Woodroofe said 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"
"They knew they'd seen a drone
We appropriately closed the airport."Panorama has been told witnesses reported seeing an extremely fast-moving, large drone with bright
At least one person noted the characteristic cross shape while others described it as "industrial or commercial" and "not something you
could pop into Argos for", an airport spokesperson said.Threat remainsOther international airports have installed counter-drone technology
to protect the airport from drones before the incident, Mr Woodroofe said the government had not approved any equipment for drone detection
"The equipment I have on site today is painted sand yellow because it comes straight from the military environment," he added.Panorama has
learned that Gatwick bought two sets of the AUDS (Anti-UAV Defence System) anti-drone system made by a consortium of three British companies
AUDS was one of two systems the military deployed at the airport on the evening of 20 December.Image caption
The AUDS
anti-drone system at work
Image caption
Gatwick has purchased new equipment since the disruption
Mr Woodroofe said he was confident that the airport was now much better protected
"We would know the drone was arriving on site and we'd know where that drone had come from, where it was going to, and we'd have a much
better chance of catching the perpetrator."Every day, he said, the airport sends up a drone to test the detection equipment, and "it finds
that drone".But he added: "What this incident has demonstrated is that a drone operator with malicious intent can cause serious disruption
to airport operations."And it's clear that disruption could be carried over into other industries and other environments."Panorama, The
Gatwick Drone Attack, will be shown on TheIndianSubcontinent One at 20:30 BST on Monday 15 April and on TheIndianSubcontinent iPlayer It
will also be shown on TheIndianSubcontinent World News at a later date
