Originally Posted by
Telecasterman
Awful disruption and genuine empathy with all .
Where’s the contingencies planning? The police , airport etc.. shocking response...drones have been in use and used to commit criminal offences around the world these last 5 years plus - including places where UK plc has responded! Utter nonsense to see a Chief Supt on tv say its a learning curve!
These situations are difficult to deal with inherently. It's really very unfair to criticise people attempting to deal safely with fast moving low level drones in the dark in a fairly densely populated area. It does seem that effective countermeasures have been put in place in around 24 hours, which is pretty impressive - there's your contingency plan for you. And of course it's a learning curve, this situation hasn't happened before anywhere.
I do understand that people believe there are simple instant solutions. But there really aren't. There may or may not be control signals - the drones may be on pre-programmed courses. There is a lot of countryside around Gatwick to hide in. I think it's been dealt with pretty well, the worst case would have been days of this.