Numerous passengers were forced to sleep on the floor of Britain's Gatwick Airport terminal overnight as the Gatwick drone chaos continued into a third day.

Iran Press/ Europe: Many passengers remained stranded early on Friday morning as Britain's Gatwick Airport prepared to reopen its runway after a rogue drone saboteur wrought travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of Christmas travellers.

Flights were halted at 2103 GMT on Wednesday (December 19) after two drones were spotted near the airfield, Reuters reported.

Police and the army have put in place "mitigating measures" to allow the airport to reopen, its chief operating officer Chris Woodroofe told BBC radio on Friday, adding that just under 700 departures were planned for the day.

Military technologies have been deployed by the British army to safeguard Gatwick as it reopens for flights after 36 hours of drone disruption, transport minister Chris Grayling said on Friday, even as the perpetrator remains at large.

"What's happening on the ground is a mix of measures taken to give confidence that aircraft can be safe... Some of those are military capabilities," Grayling told BBC television. 101/201

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