Jersey Airport experienced disruption to inbound flights for a second consecutive night on Saturday because of unauthorised drone activity near the airfield, the airport said. At 20:05 GMT on Saturday, it reported that inbound flights were affected by further drone activity in the vicinity. The airport had also reported disruption on Friday.
States of Jersey Police are investigating the incidents and appealed for anyone with information about who was responsible to come forward. Inspector Rob McCallum said it was believed two or three drones entered restricted airspace on Saturday evening, but they were not thought to be linked to terrorism.
Chief Minister Senator Lyndon Farnham said operating a drone close to an airport was not a prank or a harmless hobby. He warned that anyone identified should expect to face the full consequences of the law. He said the government and operational partners were treating the incidents with the utmost seriousness and working with UK authorities and specialist agencies to explore additional operational support, enhanced detection capability and counter-drone technology. The Government of Jersey said it had been working on arrangements to reduce the risk of further disruption and to minimise the impact on passengers. There were no reports of disruption to Sunday evening's flights.
Loganair, whose Southampton to Jersey flights on Friday and Saturday evening were cancelled, said it had provided overnight accommodation to all affected passengers. It added that extra aircraft had been flown from Scotland on both days to protect early morning services from Jersey and minimise disruption.
Jersey RFC said its team's flight home from Southampton on Saturday evening was cancelled and would cost the club thousands of pounds, including unforeseen hotel costs. The plane taxied but returned to the stand, where it stood for a few hours before being cancelled at about 21:30 GMT. A spokesperson said the group booking left no scope for rebooking because it was half-term and sufficient flights were not available. The team rebooked from Southampton for Monday morning. The club said the acts of a few had far-reaching financial and physical consequences.
Iselin Jones, director of Jersey's The Moorings Hotel, was flying home from Madeira on Saturday night when her plane was diverted to Paris after circling over Jersey. She said passengers were told the airport was closed due to renewed drone activity as the plane descended, and after holding for 10 to 15 minutes it diverted. She was due to return on a rescheduled flight to Jersey at 20:00 GMT on Sunday but said passengers were uneasy about another nighttime flight and would have preferred daylight hours. She said everyone was trying to make the most of an extra day in Paris.
Pacific Basirwe was waiting for his wife and young son to arrive from London Heathrow when he heard the news. He said the situation was annoying, that drone use should be regulated and that those responsible should be prosecuted. He added that it had happened two days in a row and that without further action it would continue.
Richard De La Haye, a taxi driver for more than 40 years, said the drone activity was affecting business. He described waiting for a couple of hours without knowing what would happen: if drivers pulled away and flights arrived, passengers would be stranded, but if flights did not arrive, drivers waited for nothing. He said the situation was getting silly and needed to be resolved.
Sources: BBC News UK.