Per passenger "Staff had no idea what to do. If this had been a terror attack we'd all be dead"

You go, Lord West! Zap them! Zap them good!

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https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ne...celled-live-updates/

Police call in the Army to help deal with Gatwick chaos as drones cause runway to close

Sussex Police formally requested the help of the military and a source told The Telegraph assistance could come in the form of helicopters, vans or soldiers on the ground.

Ministry of Defence officials held a meeting to discuss whether or not they needed to deploy, and how to do so, and shortly after on Thursday afternoon Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed the Army would be sent to West Sussex.

He said: "Sussex Police have requested assistance and support from the armed forces, and we'll be deploying the armed forces to give them the help that they need to be able to deal with the situation of the drones at Gatwick airport.

"It goes to demonstrate how our armed forces are always there, ready to support the civilian authorities."

Asked if he could reveal how the Army would respond, he added: "Sadly, at this moment it is not something we can actually reveal, but the armed forces have a range of unique capabilities and this isn't something that we would usually deploy, but we are there to assist and do everything we can so that they are in a position to open the airport at the earliest possible opportunity."

On Thursday morning, Lord West of Spithead , a retired senior officer of the Royal Navy, told the House of Lords on Thursday that the Army and GCHQ have developed the capability to both jam drones and over-ride their control systems enabling them to land the aircraft safely.

Talking to Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg, he said: "Our military and GCHQ have developed the ability to be able to identify the frequency very rapidly to actually be able to jam it or take control of the drone and land it.

Thousands of passengers remain in limbo with the runway at Gatwick remaining closed on Thursday more than 16 hours after the first sighting of the drone was reported.

The deliberate nature of the disruption is likely to spark fears it is a coordinated attack on Britain's second-busiest airport.

Flights in and out of the airport were suspended at about 9pm on Wednesday after two drones were sighted near the airfield.

Gatwick announced that the runway had reopened at about 3am on Thursday - but just 45 minutes later it was shut again.

The airport's chief operating officer Chris Woodroofe admitted it could take several days to recover services, warning those responsible they could face five years in jail.

He blasted the "irresponsible" act, saying that up to 110,000 passengers could be affected by the mayhem caused by the drones.

Mr Woodroofe has spoken of his frustration that every time the airport is in a position to continue its services, a drone is spotted and the plans to get aircraft off the tarmac are forced to be scrapped.

He had said the situation would be re-assessed with a view to re-open at 8am, but at 7.40am, the airport said flights remained suspended "due to drone activity".

The re-opening time was then pushed back to 10am, then 11am, then midday and then 2pm before the Gatwick executive conceded he could not put a time on the end of the mayhem.

Sussex Police described it as "a deliberate act to disrupt the airport", but "there are absolutely no indications to suggest this is terror related".

How in the blazes did that get past me!?!

Well, it was a fun exercise in editing. And too late to delete, as it has been responded to.