An insider was probably behind the pre-Christmas chaos at Gatwick Airport after a drone shut the airport for 33 hours, a senior executive and police have admitted.
The culprit may even have been inside the complex of Britain's second busiest airport as they brought it to a standstill.
Around 140,000 passengers were affected as 1,000 flights were cancelled or diverted, despite a huge operation to catch whoever was responsible.
Sussex Police and airport officials believe that the Gatwick drone flier was an airport insider
Numerous sightings of drones were reported as police and the military became involved.
Four months on the drone operators have still not been identified and Gatwick's chief operating officer told BBC's Panorama they appeared to have been aware of the airport's procedures.
Chris Woodroofe(CORR), who was the 'Gold Commander' overseeing the response to the attack, said in his first interview about the crisis:
'It was clear that the drone operators had a link into what was going on at the airport.' They appeared either to be able to see what was happening on the runway or were following the airport's response by eavesdropping on radio or internet connections.
Sussex Police told the programme they backed the 'insider' theory, saying it 'was treated as a credible line of enquiry from the earliest stages of the police response'.
The force even admitted the operator could have been guiding the drone from a building within the perimeter of the airport.
In February, Whitehall sources suggested a disgruntled employee could have been behind the drone attack.
One said the pilot 'knew the blind spots for it, where it could not be hit'.
The disruption began at 9.03pm on December 19 when flights were grounded after two drones were spotted. It continued until the morning of the 21st.
Sussex Police were criticised when drone enthusiast Paul Gait, 47, and his wife Elaine, 54, from nearby Craley, were arrested.
About 140,000 people were affected as 1,000 flights were cancelled or diverted during the incident
They were held in custody for 36 hours before being released.
Mr Woodroofe told Panorama the airport had not overreacted by shutting down, saying it was faced with an unprecedented
