For most of the day it looked like things might be getting back to normal at Gatwick. The airport opened again at 6am on Friday after drone sightings had closed the runway for 36 hours. Flights began to take off and land, and people started to look more cheery.

Shortly after 5pm, a spokesman for the airport said airfield operations had been suspended again “due to an unconfirmed report of a drone sighting”. It was left up to individual airline staff to break the news to people waiting to board flights. The reaction was one of resignation, with travellers visibly deflated. Flights were resumed at around 6.20pm.

Earlier, Leigh Wynkoop and her son Paul were among many of those back at the airport for a second day on Friday, trying to get home. They were waiting to catch a flight to New York before travelling on to Durham, North Carolina. The pair first arrived at Gatwick at about 7am on Thursday for a morning flight and stayed until about 2pm before giving up and booking themselves into a nearby hotel.

“I just paid for the hotel myself and kept the receipt because I don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Wynkoop, sitting on the floor surrounded by belongings. Their flight was rescheduled for 9.50am on Friday and then further delayed until 1pm.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Leigh Wynkoop and her son Paul. Photograph: Frances Perraudin/The Guardian

“Our flight from New York to back home was this afternoon and I’d had to reschedule that to the tune of £500,” she said. “Now we’re not going to make that, so we’re going to sleep on the floor of my aunt’s house in New York City and fly tomorrow. We’ll get home 48 hours later than planned.”

Gatwick airport drones: police say there are 'persons of interest' as flights resume – live Read more

Gatwick said on Friday afternoon that 412 flights had been scheduled to arrive on Friday, 91 of which had been cancelled. Of the 371 flights scheduled to depart from the airport, 64 had been cancelled.

“It’s no one’s fault except for one idiot,” said Wynkoop. “What could the airport do? It’s a safety issue. They couldn’t have flown us. I understand that.”

She added: “It’s just an extraordinary circumstance for everybody and I feel very fortunate that I wasn’t travelling with an infant and that I could afford to get a hotel.”

Play Video 1:29 Gatwick reopens after more drone disruption – video report

David Sowter, 79, who had just woken from a nap taken across a row of chairs, had set off from Florida at 5am on Wednesday to visit his daughter in Jersey, in the Channel Islands, for Christmas. “I left home and drove to Jacksonville, Florida. Then I flew from there to Fort Lauderdale and got on a Norwegian Air flight to Gatwick.”

After the drone sightings his flight was unable to land in London and so was diverted to Paris. After sitting on the runway for four hours, he was put on a bus to Calais and a ferry to Dover. He arrived at Gatwick at 5am on Friday. His new flight to Jersey was scheduled to leave at 7pm.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest On Friday, 91 of 412 arrivals had been cancelled, while 64 of 371 departures were cancelled. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Rex/Shutterstock

Like many, he was full of praise for some of the staff he had encountered. He said he had bought a woman from easyJet a box of chocolates from Marks & Spencer to say thank you for finding him a new flight from Gatwick.

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Sowter does not have a smartphone and so had been unable to follow the unfolding situation. “I’ve got a flip phone. My daughter in Jersey doesn’t even know where I am,” he said. His plans for the rest of the day at Gatwick mainly involved drinking beer. “I already had two at breakfast this morning,” he said. “I had a proper English breakfast with two pints of Guinness.”

Paul Richardson and his family were waiting to get on a delayed flight to Tenerife, where they were planning to celebrate his 50th birthday, Christmas and the new year. “We were following [the situation] yesterday, but we thought that by now it would have been done and dusted,” he said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Passengers arrived on Friday prepared for further disruption. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Rex/Shutterstock

Richardson, a taxi driver, said he suspected the drones were the work of environmental activists. “That’s my suspicion. They did it before at City airport and chained themselves to the runway,” he said, referring to a climate change protest in 2016.

“I just want to know where it’s coming from. Who’s doing it? Who’s laughing at us?” said his daughter Elle-May. “What people don’t understand is how many people it affects. Obviously it affects us, the travellers, but it also affects the people who work here. We’re lucky that we’re all together. Imagine if you were visiting family who were waiting for you.”

Like many, the Richardsons planned to pass the time drinking. “There’s no point worrying about something you can’t change,” said Paul’s wife, Karen. “We might as well start early and enjoy ourselves.”

The family’s spirits had not been dampened by the delays. “The holiday is going to be fantastic,” said Paul. “I’ve got all my family with me – my girl, my boy. They haven’t been away with us for five years, so it’s going to be lovely.”