Drones flying near Jersey Airport stopped planes from landing on two evenings in a row over the weekend, and police still haven't found who was behind them. Flights from London and Southampton were sent back to the mainland, one plane from Madeira ended up in Paris, and the island's government says the disruption reached well beyond the airport. Jersey, a British Crown Dependency in the Channel Islands about 15 miles off the coast of France, relies on its airport for most travel to and from the UK, so even a few hours of drone activity can strand people overnight.
As of Monday, the airport says it's safe to fly, and the government says "additional measures" are in place, though it won't say what they are for operational reasons.
What Happened
The first sightings came on Friday evening, Oct. 30, from about 8:20 to 10:30 p.m. local time. Three arriving flights, British Airways from London Heathrow, easyJet from London Gatwick and Loganair from Southampton, couldn't land and were diverted. One plane was finally cleared to land at about 11:45 p.m., as we covered in our first report on the diversions. Police said two or three drones had flown into the restricted airspace around the airport, and they don't believe it's linked to terrorism, according to the BBC.
It happened again on Saturday evening. Four more flights couldn't land as scheduled, according to Jersey Airport. British Airways flight BA1356 from Heathrow turned back to London, according to Flightradar24, and a flight from Funchal, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, was diverted to Paris. It was the end of half-term week, the UK school break, so planes were full of families heading home and options for rebooking were thin. Jersey's rugby team had its flight home from Southampton canceled after the plane had already taxied back to the gate, and the club said the extra hotels and travel would cost it thousands of pounds.
The government said on Monday that the weekend had "consequences beyond flight disruption." Nine planned hospital procedures were canceled, a non-emergency air ambulance transfer was called off, and some patients being treated in England couldn't get home. Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham called the drone flights "deliberate and unlawful" and said flying a drone near an airport is "not a prank or a harmless hobby." Anyone found to have recklessly put an aircraft in danger in Jersey can face up to five years in prison.
This isn't the island's first scare this year. A drone report closed Jersey's runway in July, too.
Is It Safe to Fly to Jersey?
Yes. The airport says it remains safe, and no plane has been hit. When a drone is spotted near the runway, the airport simply stops planes from landing until it's gone, which is why flights circled, turned back or diverted rather than taking any risk. That's frustrating if you're on board, but it's the system working the way it should.
The disruption so far has hit evening flights, so if you're flying to Jersey this week, it's worth checking your flight's status in your airline's app before you leave for the airport, especially for a late arrival. If your flight is diverted or canceled, your airline has to get you to Jersey or refund you, and UK and European passenger rules mean it should cover meals and a hotel if you're stuck overnight. Because a drone isn't the airline's fault, though, you're unlikely to get extra cash compensation on top.
Why Drones Are a Problem for Planes
A drone might look like a toy, but planes are most vulnerable at the exact moment drones are most likely to be around them: low and slow, close to the ground, on approach to land. A small drone weighs a few pounds and is often made of hard plastic, metal and a lithium battery. If one is sucked into an engine or hits a windshield, the damage can be serious, and pilots have almost no chance of seeing a dark, fist-sized object in time to avoid it, especially at night.
That's why the rules are strict. Around UK and Jersey airports, drones are banned from a protected zone around the runways, and airports treat any credible sighting as a reason to stop arrivals. It only takes one person with a drone to keep a full plane circling.
Why They're So Hard to Catch
Airport radar is built to find big metal airplanes, not something the size of a pigeon flying a few hundred feet off the ground. A small drone barely shows up, and at night even people looking straight at it can struggle to tell it apart from a bird or a light. Specialist detection systems exist, which listen for a drone's radio signal or use radar tuned for small objects, but most airports, especially smaller ones like Jersey, don't keep them running full time. Jersey's government says it's now working with UK agencies on better detection and possible counter-drone technology.
Finding the pilot is even harder. A drone can be flown from well over a mile away, from a car, a field or a back garden, and the person flying it can pack up and leave in seconds. That's why Jersey police are asking residents for doorbell, dashcam and phone footage rather than waiting to catch someone in the act.
Taking a drone down isn't simple either. Shooting it means risking whatever falls on homes and roads below, and jamming its signal near an airport can interfere with other equipment. Even when the military gets involved, the results aren't guaranteed. The most famous case, at London Gatwick in December 2018, shut the UK's second-busiest airport for about 33 hours and disrupted around 1,000 flights and 140,000 passengers just before Christmas. Nobody was ever charged. Last year, drone sightings shut major airports across Europe, including Copenhagen, Munich and Brussels, for hours at a time.
What Happens Next
States of Jersey Police are leading the investigation and have asked anyone who saw drones taking off or landing, or knows someone who flies one, to call 612612 and quote reference M07922/2026, or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. They're also telling people not to approach anyone they think is flying a drone illegally.
If nothing happens for a few nights, flights should settle back to normal quickly. If the drones come back, expect more evening diversions until Jersey gets its new detection equipment in place. We'll update this page if there's more disruption or an arrest.
