The Heathrow drone plan is a protest too far – even for Extinction Rebellion

There is serious concern a peaceful protest aimed at halting flights could be exploited by a terror group, writes Simon Calder

Ground stop: the perpetrator of the drone attack at Gatwick in December 2018 has still not been found (Simon Calder)

Shutting down Europe’s busiest airport should be a walk in the park: that is the view of the Heathrow Pause group of climate activists.

Starting at 3am on 13 September, they plan to fly what they describe as “toy drones” within the 5km exclusion zone established by the Civil Aviation Authority.

The protestors say they will tell Heathrow an hour in advance that, for example, “a drone might be flown at around head height in a public park in West Drayton” – a suburb just north of the airport.