London Gatwick Drone Incident Cost EasyJet £15 Million
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
In what it’s calling a “wake up call” for airports, UK low-cost carrier EasyJet disclosed Tuesday that it lost £15 million ($19.4 million) in the drone incident that disrupted London’s Gatwick Airport (LGW) over the peak holiday travel window last December.
LGW, the second-busiest airport in Britain, was shut down for 36 hours after drones were seen flying illegally in its airspace, causing thousands of canceled flights and diversions to other airports in the region. The disruption grounded more than 1,000 flights and affected about 140,000 passengers.
EasyJet’s CEO, Johan Lundgren, said he was “disappointed” by how long airport officials took to get the situation under control and relaunch flights out of Gatwick, BBC reports.
After the drones were reported, widespread cancellations and delays affected 82,000 EasyJet flyers. More than 400 EasyJet flights had to be canceled. The airline said it was forced to pay £10 million in “customer welfare costs” after the incident and lost another £5 million in revenue due to the canceled flights.
London’s Gatwick Airport, along with the city’s busier Heathrow Airport (LHR), deployed military-grade anti-drone technology worth millions of dollars to prevent a similar interruption from happening in the future.
Earlier in January, Heathrow halted departures for 30 minutes after it spotted a drone in its airspace. It isn’t clear if the anti-drone technology had yet been installed in the airport’s vicinity.
Featured image by Sean Gallup/Getty Images.
For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter here: https://thepointsguy.com/mailing-list//
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
Earn 90,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months of card membership. Offer ends 11/10/2021.
With Status Boost™, earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to two times per year getting you closer to Medallion Status. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X Miles at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets and earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply.
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Offer expires 11/10/2021.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. *Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $75 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®.
- Enjoy an exclusive rate of $39 per person per visit to enter the Delta Sky Club® for you and up to two guests when traveling on a Delta flight.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.