Following targeted drone disruptions that paralyzed London's Gatwick Airport for 36 hours, the British authorities are still searching for the perpetrators. Steve Barry of Sussex police told the BBC that "persons of interest" - suspects - had been identified in the investigation. However, the police still have no knowledge of the motives. Nor was anyone questioned or arrested.

At noon, the investigators had according to Transport Minister Chris Grayling still no hot lead. "The police have a number of investigative threads and there is speculation that it may be a protest from environmentalists, but we really do not know," Grayling said on BBC Radio. There are no indications of a terrorist background. Nevertheless, he demanded long prison sentences for the perpetrators.

photo gallery


6 pictures

Drone over London-Gatwick: Airport cuts all flights

On Friday morning, the flight operations had indeed been resumed, but about 25,000 travelers were affected by flight cancellations. Out of 837 scheduled flights, at least 155 were canceled. Passengers were asked to check with their airline before traveling to Gatwick to see if their flight was taking place. All in all, the stalking actions thwarted the travel plans of around 150,000 people.

Security is now ensured by military defense, Gatwick Operations Director Chris Woodroofe told the BBC. He does not want to divulge what means the army uses. However, he can not rule out that it will lead to further disruptions in flight operations. About 40 times the drones had been spotted above the airport. According to the police, these are drones for professional use.

Since Wednesday night, in Gatwick, with the exception of a three-quarter hour break, not a single plane had landed or landed. Incoming machines had to be diverted and some hundreds of kilometers away airports such as Amsterdam and Paris drive. The forces were initially unable to prevent the disruption despite a large police operation with helicopters, snipers and special equipment of the army.

The launch of the drones had been considered merely as a "tactical option". The danger of misguided projectiles is too big, said Minister of Transport Grayling. "You can not just fire guns in a built-up area around the airport, which would have consequences if things went wrong," Grayling said.

With more than 45 million passengers carried last year, Gatwick is the seventh largest airport in the EU - and the second largest in the UK, behind Europe's leading London Heathrow.