Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest aviation hub, faced significant disruption on Wednesday afternoon after a suspected drone was sighted in its airspace. The incident, which occurred on 14 January 2026, led to delayed departures and forced at least one arriving aircraft to divert to London Gatwick.
Flight Diverted After Holding Pattern
Data from flight tracking service Flightradar24 showed that Swiss International Air Lines flight LX324, travelling from Zurich to London Heathrow, was notably affected. The aircraft entered a holding pattern for approximately 30 minutes before its pilots made the decision to divert to Gatwick Airport in Sussex.
A passenger on that flight, named Josh, took to social media platform X to express his frustration. "I'm on the flight that's been diverted to Gatwick," he wrote. "Apparently some moron decided it was a good day to fly his drone over Heathrow."
Passenger Reports of Widespread Delays
The disruption was not limited to arrivals. Several passengers scheduled to depart from Heathrow contacted The Independent via social media to report that their outbound services were being held due to an unauthorised Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
One traveller, Padraig Belton, posted on X: "My BA 1454 is delayed after a drone was sighted over the Heathrow departures runway. I could've finished that lounge champagne if I'd known…."
Another, Iain Corby, added a lighter note from a delayed British Airways flight to the United States: "Hello from my BA flight to the States similarly stuck! Our pilot's offering kids tours of the cockpit - not a great sign!"
Airport Response and Safety Protocol
A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport issued a statement confirming the incident. "Flights are continuing as normal after a brief pause to operations, following a suspected drone sighting," they said. "We will monitor the situation and work with the police and airline partners to ensure the airport remains safe to operate."
This is not an isolated event in European aviation. In recent months, drone activity has temporarily halted flights at several major airports, including those in Vilnius and Brussels.
The incident also evokes memories of the major disruption at London Gatwick in December 2018, where repeated drone sightings near the runway led to the grounding of around 1,000 flights, causing chaos for over 140,000 passengers in the run-up to Christmas.
The latest event at Heathrow underscores the ongoing vulnerability of critical national infrastructure to drone incursions and the swift, precautionary measures airports must take to ensure passenger safety.
