UK: Drone sighting grounds departures from Heathrow

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - All outgoing flights from Britain’s busiest airport were grounded due to an alleged drone sighting Tuesday evening.

"As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate,” Heathrow Airport said on Twitter.

The message said airport officials are working with British police “to prevent any threat to operational safety.”

The closure affected only the north runway, which departing planes use.

The incident comes in the wake of last month’s disruption at another London gateway, Gatwick Airport.

Gatwick was reopened after a 36-hour halt in operations due to drones spotted over the runway, but the disruptions caused hundreds of flights cancelled, delayed, or redirected to other airports.