Drones spotted at Gatwick...

[andydclements]

25 minutes ago, slewthy said:

But if the passengers get no compensation, the airlines use no fuel......how does it cost them?

I understand all the panes are in the wrong place, but they have plenty dont they? 

I think the passengers can't claim the full compensation if it were something within the control of the airlnes, but I think irrespective of cause the passengers can claim meals etc.

[Sparky]

17 minutes ago, slewthy said:

Blimey - I see. So, has anyone estimated the cost so far? (Obviously cant count the cost of ruined plans etc)

If so, the £50k can be put into some perspective - eg 1% of the total cost or far less??

Probably in the tens of millions, maybe more, for all airlines.

[ChrisJ]

Sussex Police spokesman:

Quote

He added there was "always a possibility that there may not have been any genuine drone activity in the first place", but they were working on a range of information from members of the public, police officers and staff working at Gatwick who had reported otherwise.

 

[ramjet]

I don't believe in being a conspiracy theorist, but this just seems to get weirder.

There doesn't seem to be any photo of a drone over the airport. If a drone made as many flights across the airport as is claimed, you would expect one photo. Even if it was with spudcam.

As others have said, no-one simply followed the drone back to its home?

It was of an 'industrial specification'. Ok . It was what make and model?

How long before the pilot is silly enough to put a photo or video on the internet somewhere? Someone would not go to this much trouble to not brag about what they did.

The police arrested (and subsequently released) a guy who was at work and his wife.

Now they offer a reward as they have no clue as to who it was? Do they even know which direction the drone/s went to go home?

[Bibs]

Birmingham Airport closed now. There really is a grinch with a thing about planes on the loose! 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/birmingham-airport-suspend-services-flights-cancelled-christmas-travel-a8697416.html

[100th_Idiot]

4 hours ago, andydclements said:

I think the passengers can't claim the full compensation if it were something within the control of the airlnes, but I think irrespective of cause the passengers can claim meals etc.

There will be lots of insurance v payouts. It may not be the airlines or airport directly but the costs will be high.

4 hours ago, Giniw said:

It's a pity they don't have flying machine at Gatwik that could follow the drone ... 😕

(Seriously, they don't have a drone or even a real helicopter?!)

I haven't followed all the story from here but that looks strange indeed, especially when I read here that the drone showed up more than 50 times?!

There were a few. It is a perimeter that is many miles though.

[Bibs]

Clamp downs will make zero difference, the same as knifing someone is illegal making no difference and speeding being illegal making no difference. 

The people who did this has no respect for the law and more laws won't change that. 

[Barrykearley]

Something absolutely stinks about this whole event.

it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. It’s not adding up how this can have gone on for much more than a couple of hours

[slewthy]

The Peter principle?

"The Peter Principle is an observation that the tendency in most organizational hierarchies, such as that of a corporation, is for every employee to rise in the hierarchy through promotion until they reach the levels of their respective incompetence."

[Chillidoggy]

A principle to which I’ve adhered throughout my working life.

[ramjet]

And the insurers don't have to pay out.....................

System failure? Yes.

Drone 'attack'? No.

The couple that were arrested were on the News here last night and are apparently now getting Medical Care due to the stress they have been put under. I understand them partly, due to a whole heap of unwanted and unwarranted attention, but I would not have thought Medical Care would be required? Are they able to seek 'damages' for unwarranted arrest?

[Barrykearley]

The tabloids will be clambering to sign them up for an exclusive story

[Barrykearley]

Cliff Richard....

[internets]

16 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

Cliff Richard....

Yes I noticed the BBC made a point about not naming them, unlike the rest of the media 🙄

[C8RKH]

I think the medical attention is for the stress and strain of the whole thing - so will be tranquiliser, sleep tablets etc. All for the nerves.

Are those the same newspapers that will be clamouring for their stories as the ones they could end up suing for wrongfully revealing their details?

I can see the Police being sued for wrongful arrest, for releasing the names, and the newspapers for invasion of privacy etc.

There is no such thing as being presumed innocent anymore in this new internet age - it's like we've gone back 200 years to lynch mob mentality to be honest.

[Bibs]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/27/gatwick-airport-sold-to-french-group

Funny timing! 

[Giniw]

Indeed ...

[C8RKH]

Yet another example of UK infrastructure being sold to a European country that fiercely protects its home markets from anyone else. Sigh...

[geartox]

UK infrastructure sold to FR

FR infrastructure sold to CN

 

[Giniw]

@geartox > yes that is exactly what I thought too!

@C8RKH > actually the EU doesn't protect anything, as any restriction of movement of capitals are forbidden by the 63rd article from the TFUE
 

Quote

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT&from=FR

Article 63

(ex Article 56 TEC)

1. Within the framework of the provisions set out in this Chapter, all restrictions on the movement of capital between Member States and between Member States and third countries shall be prohibited.

[C8RKH]

@Giniw - I was not referring to the EU, I was referring to European countries (like France and her government) who will use any means possible to ensure that UK companies cannot or do not buy significant French (or other) companies.  You can look at utilities (energy and water) as well as car firms, large construction etc. for well documented examples.

So, whilst the EU said utilities should not be "publicly" owned, the UK compiled and the French (with the Spanish and Germans who behave the same) ploughed in and bought up swathes of our energy and water companies whilst then declaring their own "national critical" so stopping Centrica (British Gas as was) and others doing the same with their companies.

There is the EU rule of law, then there is what the French, followed largely by the Spanish and Italians, and then the Germans do to "legally" bend, break and circumvent the rules to protect what they say see as their national jobs and companies. Don't even get me started on the illegal but frequent national support given by the French (and Spanish, Italian, German) governments illegally to its leading companies to keep them trading strong. Lol - imagine the outcry in the UK if, like in Germany, industrial energy costs were capped and held low due to a levy paid by citizens for their energy costs? Another form of bending the competition rules to favour local businesses and industries, this time by the Germans.  The European countries consistently bend and break the rules to suit - just look at the French, Italian and Greek governments and their budgets etc...

Anyway, back to drones - if as a result that they do not let our planes fly to Europe after Brexit I propose that we all buy a drone, drive our Loti over to France, do some great track days during the week whilst at the weekend we fly our drones for pleasure over every every major French airport. That will also get them back for all the bloody delays due to French air traffic controllers always striking to coincide with UK school holidays!

LOL - I am no sipping a lovely French claret, whilst eating some wonderful French Goats cheese spread on some great French bread whilst I wait for the inevitable flaming over my jovial, and not serious, posting....!  chin chin chaps....

[Giniw]

(I understand it's a bit off topic so I will keep it short ... ^^)

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

whilst then declaring their own "national critical"

This is true for some countries but as for France it's not that simple really, in the last few years we have lost Alstom which has been sold to GE (electrical part) and then the train part is sold to the Germans (including the TGV ...) to Siemens, then as @geartox mentioned the Toulouse airport has been sold to a Chinese group, and as for a lot of wines or Baccarat glass and many others assets. Next are our electrical dams which will be sold because of the insistence of the EU (and not declared critical, apparently we are the only doing so — 150 of the biggest will have to be sold by the end of 2022), and the list goes on and on.
We may have protected our industry in the past, but this is no longer the case — or at least the trend is towards less and less state intervention.

 

1 hour ago, C8RKH said:

LOL - I am no sipping a lovely French claret,

cheers!

[C8RKH]

13 hours ago, Buddsy said:

Its like asking a terrorist to register being a terrorist...

Last time I went to the US at immigration I had to declare whether I was a terrorist or not, or whether I had been a terrorist.

[Chillidoggy]

Try removing the balaclava next time you go.

[USAndretti42]

I think they ask that so you can be hit with another charge if you are found to be lying.