Gatwick Airport closed, because idiots are flying drones close to it.

[binka]

Nope. Screwing over people's holidays/business trips/trips for important funerals, wedding, funerals etc is not the way forward.

Is it that different to something like reclaim the steets back in the 90s? I'm too young to remember it but I've read about it here and elsewhere and thought it was non-violent direct action that surely inconvenienced loads of people. RTS seems to have been popular here.

Would U75 of 15 years ago have been more likely to support something like this? (If it were a climate protestor of course!)

 

[Sprocket.]

All cleared for take-off, situation normal etc.

 

[TopCat]

It has a whiff of amusing distraction from all the endless Brexit misery.

 

[TopCat]

All cleared for take-off, situation normal etc.

is it?

 

[brogdale]

It's real...when I just looked over towards Heathrow I could see lights in the sky; drones I tell you...drones

 

[Sprocket.]

is it?

According to the BBC radio!
They just spoke to a passenger who said the pilot had been given the all clear.

 

[Pickman's model]

The other day I helped someone book travel to the south of Germany going by train rather than flying.

What happened at Gatwick wasn't irrelevant to their decision.

They'll be travelling next week. If we're about to get into some extended disruption at Heathrow (I hope we are) then I'll be proven doubly right in my advice (not they needed a lot of persuading). Not only will it be less harmful for them to go by train but possibly less inconvenient too.

The met office has issued a smugness warning for South London

 

[Reno]

Is it that different to something like reclaim the steets back in the 90s? I'm too young to remember it but I've read about it here and elsewhere and thought it was non-violent direct action that surely inconvenienced loads of people. RTS seems to have been popular here.

Would U75 of 15 years ago have been more likely to support something like this? (If it were a climate protestor of course!)

It’s a lot more disruptive and potentially costly for the people affected by it. It’s all such a laugh till it’s you who has to urgently get somewhere.

 

[Sprocket.]

It’s okay these drone users being disruptive, it’s going to make my surveillance of my neighbours more difficult!

 

[Sprocket.]

The guy on the radio knows he has already missed his connection at Zurich!

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Flight radar shows planes taking off and landing just fine. For once I hope teuchter is right, seeing as Gatwick drone meant about six times normal bunce for me, a few days drone action at LHR and my next holiday could be by private jet

 

[Pickman's model]

It’s okay these drone users being disruptive, it’s going to make my surveillance of my neighbours more difficult!

Sprocket recently

 

[Sprocket.]

Sprocket recently

Sshhhh!

 

[donkyboy]

why not just ban drones all together? job done.

 

[editor]

Is it that different to something like reclaim the steets back in the 90s? I'm too young to remember it but I've read about it here and elsewhere and thought it was non-violent direct action that surely inconvenienced loads of people. RTS seems to have been popular here.

Would U75 of 15 years ago have been more likely to support something like this? (If it were a climate protestor of course!)

That's a very, very poor comparison. Reclaim The Streets would block off a single street for a few hours not an entire airport for long periods leaving people with no travel alternatives.

At worst, people would have to find a different bus/tube/walking route and add minutes to their day, and not lose out on entire holidays and miss weddings/funerals etc.

 

[Pickman's model]

Anyone thinking of travelling from liverpool street on 18/6/99 had their travel plans thrown into disarray

 

[editor]

Anyone thinking of travelling from liverpool street on 18/6/99 had their travel plans thrown into disarray

If only there had been an extensive public transport of buses, tubes and overground trains nearby offering alternative travel.

Oh, wait.....

 

[skyscraper101]

Flights resumed now.

 

[chilango]

For me, the main reason that the comparison between this and RTS falls is not the inconvenience. That's fair (to a point) imho. I was party to some discussions about plans to gridlock London entirely. It didn't happen. But not because we wanted to avoid inconvenience. There were many of us who would've relished causing more disruption, more inconvenience, than we managed.

No, it's the individual nature of this versus the mass, collective nature of RTS. And that RTS was an open, transparent action.

 

[cybershot]

Send in the barking dogs.

I do find it odd that people that are the quickest to moan about polluting cars and what not seem to think the opposite about planes?

 

[Pickman's model]

If only there had been an extensive public transport of buses, tubes and overground trains nearby offering alternative travel.

Oh, wait.....

not sure many buses went past liverpool street on j18. And no overground back then, 11 years to wait for that. Tubes don't go as far as norwich or chelmsford, and fenchurch st may have been closed too, can't recall

 

[binka]

That's a very, very poor comparison. Reclaim The Streets would block off a single street for a few hours not an entire airport for long periods leaving people with no travel alternatives.

At worst, people would have to find a different bus/tube/walking route and add minutes to their day, and not lose out on entire holidays and miss weddings/funerals etc.

That's the kind of argument you hear against every strike that's ever happened. If you're operating from the position that the world is being destroyed then missed holidays and funerals are pretty irrelevant

 

[SpookyFrank]

Would U75 of 15 years ago have been more likely to support something like this? (If it were a climate protestor of course!)

That was before these lot all bought Audis, took up golf and generally settled down to a quiet life of noshing off the status quo.

 

[chilango]

Indeed.

If, and it's a massive if at this point, this is done sort of eco/climate action, then there are many valid criticism s to be made of it as a tactic.

Causing inconvenience, however upsetting this may be for some hit by it, is fairly low down the list of reasons why this might not be be a good tactic.

 

[cupid_stunt]

That was before these lot all bought Audis, took up golf and generally settled down to a quiet life of noshing off the status quo.

Yeah, as if the likes of the editor & me have taken up golf & swan around in fucking Audis.

Don't be a plank, frank.

 

[teuchter]

That's the kind of argument you hear against every strike that's ever happened.

Yup!

Easy for people used to driving around in their own cars and taking international flights to get behind strikes that disrupt public transport that they personally aren't completely reliant on. See how they react when something happens that actually totally stops them from doing stuff they want to though!

 

[SpookyFrank]

Yeah, as if the likes of the editor & me have taken up golf & swan around in fucking Audis.

Don't be a plank, frank.

Now if you all look under your chairs you'll find a card which reads, 'Cupid_stunt will immediately take the bait'.

 

[smmudge]

plans to gridlock London entirely. It didn't happen.

Have you tried driving through London recently?

 

[mojo pixy]

Eyjafjallajökull stopped flights from everywhere for a fucking week, where was all this righteous indignation then? Oh no, that was a volcano, no point then.

/empty boat parable.

 

[editor]

That's the kind of argument you hear against every strike that's ever happened. If you're operating from the position that the world is being destroyed then missed holidays and funerals are pretty irrelevant

It's really not, but whatever. If you want to celebrate some twat with a drone making people's lives miserable for no good reason, you go right ahead.