The drone activity saw all late evening flights into Jersey cancelled
Published1 November 2026, 01:52 GMT
People at Jersey Airport have said they are frustrated and angry that "unauthorised drone" activity caused more flight cancellations for a second night in a row.
At 20:05 on Saturday Jersey Airport said it was "experiencing disruption…. affecting inbound flights as a result of further drone activity in the vicinity of the airfield".
States of Jersey Police are investigating the incidents and officers have appealed to anyone with information about who is responsible to come forward.
Insp Rob McCallum said it was believed "two or three" drones had entered the restricted airspace, but they were not thought to be linked to terrorism.
Jersey RFC said their team's flight home from Southampton had been cancelled and it would cost the club "thousands and thousands of pounds", including unforeseen hotel costs.
Pacific Basirwe was waiting for his family to fly in from Heathrow before their flight was cancelled because of the disruption
Pacific Basirwe was waiting for his wife and young son to fly in from London Heathrow when he heard the news.
He said: "It's annoying, this should be regulated, and the people doing those things should be prosecuted.
"It's been two days in a row now… If there is no further action, they will keep doing it, which is not good."
The Chief Minister of Jersey, Senator Lyndon Farnham, said operating a drone close to an airport was "not a prank or a harmless hobby".
"To those responsible, the message is clear: if you are identified, you should expect to face the full consequences of the law."
'Utmost seriousness'
He added: "The government and our operational partners are treating these incidents with the utmost seriousness.
"Police investigations are ongoing and every available avenue is being pursued to identify those responsible.
"We are also working closely with UK authorities and specialist agencies to explore additional operational support, enhanced detection capability and counter-drone technology."
"Jersey Airport remains safe, and we are determined to do everything necessary both to identify those responsible and to strengthen our capability to prevent this happening again," he continued.
"The public can be assured that all relevant agencies are working together at pace and that lessons from these incidents will be acted upon swiftly.
"Our airport is a vital lifeline for the island. We will not tolerate behaviour that jeopardises its safe operation or undermines public confidence in our transport infrastructure."
Players and staff from Jersey RFC are stuck in the UK
Jersey RFC said while the team's flight taxied, it returned to the stand and stood there for a few hours before finally being cancelled around 21:30 GMT.
A spokesperson said: "As this was a group booking, there was no scope for rebooking given that it is half-term and sufficient flights were not available today.
"The team have had to rebook from Southampton on Monday morning. As a community club we have to work incredibly hard to fund local rugby and travel.
"Put simply this will cost thousands and thousands of pounds, including unforeseen hotel costs.
"Whilst we'll leave the authorities to investigate, the acts of a few have far impacting consequences both financial and physical. It couldn't be further from a 'bit of fun'."
Richard De La Haye said the last couple of nights have been difficult
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Richard De La Haye has been a taxi driver for more than 40 years and believes the drone activity is affecting business for drivers like him.
He said: "It's a bit of a nightmare because we're sitting here for a couple of hours really not knowing what's going to happen."
De La Haye added: "If we pull away and the flights come in then people will be stranded waiting for taxis but if they don't come in we're sat here for two hours waiting for passengers.
"It's getting silly and I don't know the answer, but it really needs to be resolved, quite honestly."
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