East Midlands Airport flights disrupted after drone sightings

Flights at East Midlands Airport (EMA) have been diverted on Friday night time after sightings of drones close to a heavy metallic and rock pageant.

Six passenger planes and two cargo plane have been rerouted to totally different airports and a runway was closed consequently.

Drones had been noticed close to Donington Park, the placement of rock music pageant Download, on Friday afternoon at round 2pm. The three-day pageant is going down in Leicestershire and is just round a mile from the airport.

In a press release, the airport mentioned the sightings had brought on “operational disruption” in current days. A spokesperson confirmed the runway was closed for round an hour at 11pm on Friday night.

The runway has since reopened and the airport has had no additional points, a spokesperson added.

The airport launched a joint assertion with Leicestershire Police and the organisers of Download Festival.

The assertion mentioned: “The safe operation of the EMA aerodrome and the safety of the public at the event are our top priority. Together, Leicestershire Police, Download Festival organisers and the airport continue to work closely to monitor the situation. As a result, both the festival organisers and the police have enhanced the number of patrols on-site and the surrounding areas.

“The public are reminded that flying a drone in proximity to an operational airport is an offence under the Civil Aviation Act 1982 and is a huge risk to public safety. The police will take appropriate action if necessary.”