What is Gatwick Drone?

Gatwick Drone refers to the two industrial-grade drones spotted near London Gatwick Airport in December 2018 that closed the runway for more than 24 hours and sparked a wave of Twitter parodies.

Where did Gatwick Drone come from?

The incident started on December 19th, 2018 when Gatwick staff spotted two drones near the runway and grounded flights, with Twitter joke posts following within a day.

What does Gatwick Drone mean?

Online it points to the mismatch between a small hobbyist device and the massive response it triggered, including Sussex Police and a British Army deployment.

How do you use Gatwick Drone?

People typically use it in 'Who Would Win?' formats or short quips that stack an entire authority against one drone, as with @GeorgeShankar's December 20th tweet that hit 700 retweets and 2,700 likes.

Is Gatwick Drone still popular?

The jokes were tied to the December 2018 news cycle and largely faded after Gatwick reopened on December 21st.

Gatwick Drone

2018eventdead

Published August 20, 2026

Gatwick Drone refers to the two industrial-grade drones spotted near London Gatwick Airport in December 2018 that grounded all flights for more than 24 hours, affecting 110,000 passengers. Twitter users turned the chaos into a running joke, posting 'Who Would Win?' parodies and quips about the airport, police, and army chasing a single hobbyist gadget.

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Overview

Gatwick Drone refers to the pair of drones spotted near London Gatwick Airport in December 2018 that forced authorities to close the runway for more than a day1. Gatwick's chief operating officer said 120,000 passengers had been due to fly during the closure, and the airport, Sussex Police, and eventually the British Army spent days chasing a device that repeatedly reappeared over the airfield2.

The story stood out because of the mismatch between the scale of the chaos and the low-tech culprit. Online, the shutdown turned into a running joke, with Twitter users mocking the airport, the police, and the unknown drone operator3.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

News event / Twitter (viral spread)

Date

2018

On December 19th, 2018, staff at Gatwick Airport spotted two industrial-grade drones near the runway and grounded all flights1. The BBC and other outlets ran rolling live coverage as the closure stretched into a second day2. Early on-scene tweets from stranded passengers, including @Listy_cl and @LyndseyClark10, gave real-time updates from the terminals3.

How It Spread

As travelers slept on the terminal floor, Twitter users turned the shutdown into fodder for jokes. On December 20th, @GeorgeShankar posted a 'Who Would Win?' parody pitting the entire airport against a single drone, which pulled over 700 retweets and 2,700 likes; another popular tweet from @Stephencalver7 hit 270 retweets and 800 likes3.

The chase itself provided more material. Sussex Police first ruled out shooting the drone down over concerns about stray bullets, then reversed course after other tactics failed2. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed on the evening of December 20th that the military had been deployed to help2. Police said they suspected the drone had been 'adapted and developed' with intent to cause disruption, and no arrests were made during the initial hunt2. The first plane finally landed on December 21st after more than 24 hours of closure1.

How to Use This Meme

Gatwick Drone jokes typically pit an oversized institutional response against a tiny piece of consumer tech. Common formats include 'Who Would Win?' images and short quips that frame the airport, Sussex Police, or the British Army as helpless against one hobbyist gadget hovering over the runway3.