Spellar demands answers on 'sorry saga' of drone chaos
The Government has been accused failing to have any contingency plans in place to tackle issues with drones at Britain's airports.
Labour MP John Spellar challenged Transport Secretary Chris Grayling after Gatwick airport was repeatedly forced to close between December 19 and 21 due to reported drone sightings, causing chaos for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The Government has now announced a package of measures – including plans to give police the power to land, seize and search drones.
In a Commons debate Mr Spellar asked Mr Grayling whether prior to the chaos any contingency plans had been agreed with the MOD and the Home Office to protect airports from drone incidents.
Mr Grayling said in response: "As we are hearing from around the world, protections against such a deliberate and disruptive attack are few and far between.
"The reality is that the Government and different Departments, including the MOD, moved very quickly to assemble a response of a different kind from any previous one, and they did so in a way that is now being looked at very carefully around the world."
Mr Spellar, the MP for Warley and a former Transport Minister, said: "I think it was Peel who said that the absence of crime, not the apprehension of criminals, was the test of a good force.
"What the hundreds of thousands of travellers wanted was for the disruption to be stopped.
"Chris Grayling’s silence in the face of direct questions makes one suspect there were no plans, or he failed to mobilise them quickly enough.
"MPs and more importantly the passengers who were so badly affected at Gatwick will be demanding more answers about this sorry saga."
The new measures include extending the exclusion zone around airports to approximately a 5km-radius (3.1-miles), with additional extensions from the ends of runways.
Ministers said that from November 30 operators of drones weighing between 250g and 20kg will be required to register and take an online drone pilot competency test.
Police will be able to issue fixed-penalty notices for minor drone offences, while fines of up to £100 could be given for offences such as failing to comply with police when instructed to land a drone, or not showing their registration to operate a drone.
No arrests have been made in connection with the Gatwick incident, since a couple were released without charge before Christmas.
