Reports of a drone spotted at Majorca Airport has caused chaos for passengers with flights unable to take off or land for a period from around 6pm UK time on the holiday island popular with Brits
Passengers have been hit with chaotic scenes at the airport of a popular holiday destination for many Brits after reports of a drone being sighted.
Flights have been unable to take off or land for a period from around 6pm UK time at Majorca Airport – with several planes forced to divert to other airports in Spain after several reports of a drone being seen by air crew. FlightRadar24 reported: “Operations at Palma de Mallorca Airport are currently suspended because of a drone in the airspace. Last landing was at 18:58 local time (5.58pm UK time). Several flights are diverting to other airports.”
At least 12 flights have had to be diverted while a flight arriving from Gatwick was listed as delayed. Spanish emergency services have carried out a search of the area but it is reported that they have not seen anything suspicious.
It is understood that air crew on at least six planes travelling to and from Majorca airport reported seeing what they believed to be a drone leading to the emergency measures being introduced. And it comes after many airports in Europe have faced disruption from drones with claims that Russia has been behind some of the interference.
Enaire, the agency in charge of air traffic control in Spain, wrote on X at 6.21pm: “The sighting of a drone at Palma de Majorca airport forces a temporary suspension of operations for safety reasons.”
And in a later post it said that the airport had reopened and that planes were able to take off and land while it advised passengers to check with their airlines over the possible impact. It stated: “Operations resume at Palma de Majorca airport. If you are going to fly, check with your airline for the status of your flight.”
While Aena, which runs Spanish airports also stated: “As a preventative measure, arrival operations have been halted for 35 minutes. The situation has returned to normal following the corresponding safety checks.”
Passengers on board a Ryanair flight from Madrid to Palma said that the cabin crew told them that a drone had been spotted as they came into land and so they were diverted to Ibiza. And one person on board told Diario de Mallorca: “Diverted planes like our have had to stop to refuel and so we don’t know yet when we are going to be able to take off again.”