--- title: "We Have No Idea How to Deal With Unexpected Drones at Airports" description: "Local law enforcement and transport agencies will have to come up with a solution to ward off unwanted drones at airfields." date: "2018-12-21" modified: "2018-12-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/drone-gatwick-chaos-lasers-jamming-guns" categories: - "Drones" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "airport security" - "anti-drones" - "drone" - "UAV" --- # We Have No Idea How to Deal With Unexpected Drones at Airports ![Local law enforcement and transport agencies will have to come up with a solution to ward off unwanted drones at airfields.]() *\Image: DroneShield\* ## Won't Be Home for Christmas A number of mysterious drones caused officials to completely shut down all of Gatwick Airport's runways in London this week — and it highlights the uncomfortable fact that we have no idea what to do when drones show up unannounced at airports. The chaos started on Wednesday night, the *BBC* [reports](), when a commercial-size drone was spotted near Gatwick's airfield, confirmed by about [50 sightings](). During a two-day game of cat and mouse — the drone kept reappearing as soon as Gatwick decided to reopen its runways — more than 120,000 passengers and some 760 flights were affected by the disruption, according to the *BBC*. ## Clueless Local law enforcement [believes it was]() a "deliberate act." At the time of reporting, [no arrests]() have been made. Possible jail time: five years, [according]() to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling. "This kind of incident is unprecedented anywhere in the world, the disruption of an airport in this way," Grayling said, as [quoted]() by *Agence France-Presse.* "We're going to have to learn very quickly from what's happened." It's not even the first time a drones have disrupted the operations of an airport, as the *AFP* [points out](). Drones caused chaos three times at Dubai International Airport in 2016, and an airline pilot avoided a crash with a drone in Paris in February 2016. ## Eagles and Lasers So what can we do about drones at airports? When it comes to commercial drones near runways and other no-fly zones, security companies have invented "jamming" guns that cause drones to stop dead in their track, and even fall from the sky. For instance, Virginia-based security company [DroneShield's DroneGun]() can force a drone to land without even destroying it from a mile away by pointing a massive signal-jamming gun at it. Other methods include [high-energy lasers]() that can obliterate small drones from several miles away. Police in the Netherlands have even tried [using trained eagles]() to take down drones. The chaos at Gatwick chaos makes one thing clear: transport agencies and local law enforcement will have to come up with some kind of permanent solution in the future. Because traveling by plane this close to Christmas is terrible enough as it is. **READ MORE:** [Gatwick chaos: Police 'could shoot down drone']() \[*BBC*\] ***More on anti-drone technology: These Are the Most Advanced Anti-Drone Technologies*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()