# Gatwick Drone 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. ## 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 day[1]. 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 airfield[2]. 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 operator[3]. ## 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 likes[3]. 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 failed[2]. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed on the evening of December 20th that the military had been deployed to help[2]. Police said they suspected the drone had been 'adapted and developed' with intent to cause disruption, and no arrests were made during the initial hunt[2]. The first plane finally landed on December 21st after more than 24 hours of closure[1]. ## How to Use 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 runway[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### 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[1]. ### 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[1], with Twitter joke posts following within a day[3]. ### 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[2]. ### 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[3]. ### Is Gatwick Drone still popular? The jokes were tied to the December 2018 news cycle and largely faded after Gatwick reopened on December 21st[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2018/dec/21/gatwick-drone-airport-limited-flights-live]() 2. [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-46640033]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/gatwick-drone]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/gatwick-drone Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library