Drones have become the unexpected troublemakers of the skies. They peek into our homes, plunge from the heavens without warning, and even hint at future terror possibilities. While no one has yet strapped explosives to a hobbyist quadcopter, the threat is real, and governments worldwide are still scrambling for answers. 10 times drones have managed to shut down some of the busiest airports on the planet, leaving passengers stranded and officials baffled.
10 Times Drones: Global Airport Disruptions
10 Heathrow Airport
In May 2017, flights were diverted from Heathrow Airport in London after two mysterious objects entered its airspace. Pilots reported seeing what they described as drones, though there was considerable debate over their exact appearance and whether they were genuine drones at all.
The crew members were split: most pilots thought they saw a drone or “something” at all. One Airbus A320 captain recounted “two white, orb‑shaped objects, with no lights or visible markings.”
These objects hovered motionlessly despite windy conditions. One lingered at 1,680 metres (5,500 ft) and the other at roughly 1,370 metres (4,500 ft). Because they were too small to trigger the aircraft’s collision‑avoidance system, a plane could have collided with them from a distance of 500‑800 metres (1,600‑2,600 ft).
Another pilot estimated the drones at 1.5 m (5 ft) long, while a different report claimed 2 m (6.6 ft). Some crew members doubted the objects were drones, suggesting they might be balloons—though larger than typical children’s helium balloons.
9 Lisbon Airport
On September 19, 2018, Lisbon Airport halted all operations for 11 minutes after a drone hovered over its runway around 11 p.m. Ten aircraft circled the field throughout the brief shutdown.
Two additional flights were diverted to Faro Airport because they were running low on fuel. Each carried roughly 300 passengers, who were accommodated in local hotels for the night before being shuttled back to Lisbon the next day. Police searched for the rogue drone and its operator but came up empty‑handed.
This incident was part of a series of drone incursions that have plagued Lisbon since 2014. Less than a month earlier, the airport’s airspace had been closed for 26 minutes. Earlier weeks also recorded drone sightings.
Back in 2014, a drone came within three metres (10 ft) of a landing Portuguese Air Force aircraft, narrowly avoiding a collision with its landing gear. In another unsettling event, a drone projected a laser into a cockpit, injuring a pilot’s left eye; that flight carried 150 passengers.
8 Gatwick Airport
Between December 19 and 21, 2018, more than 100,000 travelers were stranded at Gatwick Airport after at least two drones repeatedly interfered with landings and departures. The first sighting occurred at 9:03 p.m. on the 19th, and the drones kept appearing and vanishing until the 21st.
While civilian drones usually have limited flight times due to small batteries, these intruders seemed deliberately modified with larger power sources, suggesting a coordinated effort. Authorities suspected there could have been more than just two drones.
During the shutdown, roughly 120,000 passengers remained on the tarmac. Incoming flights were diverted to airports in Amsterdam and Paris. Most airlines offered no hotel accommodations and discouraged passengers from leaving, as the exact time of resumption was uncertain.
The rogue drones finally withdrew on December 21 when the military deployed specialized jamming equipment. The airport endured a 36‑hour shutdown; 837 flights were scheduled, 160 were canceled, and the remainder eventually departed, reuniting many stranded travelers. Police later arrested two individuals linked to the incident.
Interestingly, this wasn’t Gatwick’s first brush with drone disruptions. In July 2017, the airport experienced two separate shutdowns on the same day—first for nine minutes, then again after five minutes—forcing several flights to divert.
7 Ben Gurion Airport
In January 2018, Israel’s primary gateway, Ben Gurion Airport, was forced to suspend operations for ten minutes after a drone hovered overhead at 7:20 p.m. Notably, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence had landed there just hours earlier on a state visit.
Drone incursions have become a recurring headache for Ben Gurion. A month prior, a similar ten‑minute shutdown occurred, and earlier incidents in November 2016 and 2015 also saw drones hovering near aircraft, prompting pilots to maneuver away.
The surge in drone activity exposed gaps in Israel’s national security framework. Initially, it was unclear whether the army or police should tackle the problem. Eventually, an anti‑drone task force, led by the air force, was established to address the threat.
6 Indira Gandhi International Airport
In August 2017, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport experienced an almost two‑hour shutdown after pilots reported a drone while preparing to land. Runway closures spanned from 11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.
Later that evening, a second 40‑minute suspension occurred when another drone hovered near the airport. Pilots claimed the drone flew toward their aircraft. The airport finally reopened at 7:55 p.m. after police confirmed a clear sky. At least four passenger flights were diverted during these interruptions.
5 Dubai International Airport
June 2018 saw Dubai International Airport shut down for over an hour when a rogue civilian drone hovered above the runways. Twenty‑one flights were diverted during the outage. Two years earlier, a similar 69‑minute closure occurred, diverting twenty‑two flights.
Given Dubai’s status as the world’s busiest hub for international travel, such shutdowns are logistical nightmares, costing roughly 350,000 dirhams ($95,368) per minute. In 2016 alone, drone‑related disruptions cost the airport an estimated 61 million dirhams ($16.62 million).
Because of the recurring threat, the General Civil Aviation Authority declared the airport one of four zones in the UAE where drones are prohibited—a ban prompted by a 2017 incident and enacted just two months before the June 2018 shutdown.
4 Stockholm Arlanda Airport And Stockholm Bromma Airport
August 2017 brought a one‑hour shutdown to Sweden’s Stockholm Arlanda Airport after a drone was spotted hovering in its airspace. While most aircraft continued circling, two planes were cleared to land when fuel levels ran low.
The frequency of drone incursions is so high that the Swedish pilots’ union now advises members to approach the airport with extra fuel, just in case. Swedish law mandates that any drone entering an airport’s control zone triggers a shutdown of at least 30 minutes, or until the drone lands.
That August alone saw Arlanda shut down four times due to drones, with two incidents occurring within the same week. Meanwhile, nearby Stockholm Bromma Airport endured three separate shutdowns for the same reason.
3 Cork Airport
On April 20, 2017, Ireland’s Cork Airport was forced to pause operations for ten to fifteen minutes after a drone was observed at 9:45 a.m. Two aircraft remained in a holding pattern until the object vanished.
Air traffic controllers eventually cleared the planes to land, but pilots were instructed to approach “with caution” in case the drone lingered. Police searched the surrounding area but failed to locate the rogue device or its operator.
2 Wellington International Airport
November 2018 saw Wellington International Airport’s airspace sealed off after a drone hovered just 200 m (656 ft) above its runway, less than three kilometres (1.9 mi) from the landing strip. The drone was spotted at 6:32 p.m. as an aircraft touched down.
Pilots preparing for take‑off also reported seeing the drone, watching it linger for 23 minutes before finally departing. The airport remained closed until 7:10 p.m. during which several planes circled, and ten aircraft on the ground were delayed from departing.
1 Auckland Airport
In March 2018, Auckland Airport in New Zealand experienced a 30‑minute shutdown after a drone hovered over the field, delaying several arrivals and departures. A helicopter sent to locate the drone failed to find it, while twenty aircraft circled overhead.
Later, a flight from Tokyo was diverted to an Air Force base 500 km (800 mi) away to refuel before returning to Auckland. Another shutdown occurred in April 2018 when authorities discovered the “drone” was actually a balloon, reopening the airport after six minutes. A third partial shutdown in August 2018 followed a drone sighting 12 km (7.5 mi) away, but the airport quickly resumed operations once the threat was deemed absent.