My name is Tivka and I am 16 years old. I live with my mum and my four younger siblings. In February my dear grandma booked a secret surprise holiday for us as a family to Lapland for Christmas. This was something that my grandma and grandpa always wanted to do for us when we were younger, but unfortunately my grandpa died at an early age and their wish couldn’t come true.

After my grandpa’s passing on New Year’s Day 2010, my family were left in pieces, and my grandma unfortunately didn’t recover from the loss well and will be in mourning eternally, I fear.

In February this year my grandma found the courage to book a holiday for us and fulfil my grandpa’s wish. Please bear in mind how difficult it is to plan a holiday for a family of seven – all of whom have never been on an airplane before. It was going to be the most magical and amazing trip of our lives.

My grandma kept the trip a secret from us children until 17 December, when she broke the news: we would be getting a plane early in the morning, riding on a sleigh, meeting Father Christmas and elves, petting reindeers, huskies and so much more in one beautiful day. We were ecstatic.

Imagine the heartbreak, then, at 7.30pm on the night before the holiday of a lifetime, when there is a notification saying the flights are cancelled. Disappointment. Shock. Tears cascaded down my young sister’s and brothers’ cheeks. Our holiday was no more. Usual, painful Christmas is now all that remains. One with the remembrance of the loss of our grandpa, who lit up our entire lives. I’ve never heard my grandma cry so much – she is absolutely devastated.

Because of drones at Gatwick airport (Gatwick chaos sparks call for new control on drones, 21 December), I now need to pick up the pieces of a distraught and depressed family and try to find something, anything that will compensate for their heartbreak. There is no one here to blame, but I would like this to tug at the guilty person’s heartstrings, that because of their actions an already mourning family now have to mourn a cancelled holiday too.

Tivka Dillner

Petersfield, Hampshire

• The person to consult about the drones disrupting Gatwick is surely Liz Truss, who as justice secretary famously said after visiting Pentonville prison, “They’ve got dogs who are barking, which helps deter drones.” (The Guardian featured that as quote of the day just over two years ago, I’ve had it attached to my fridge ever since, and look at it every time someone suggests Truss might make a good prime minister.)

A little more seriously, I presume Gatwick is combing its arrivals list to see if two Russian tourists arrived recently, armed with guidebooks for Crawley and East Grinstead: “Crawley is a lively, vibrant town, with great leisure and shopping facilities. Standen is an Arts and Crafts house owned by the National Trust. It was decorated by William Morris. It is open to the public.”

Judith Martin

Winchester, Hampshire

• The Stansted 15 were charged with an offence under Section 1 (2) (b) of the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990: one plane was prevented from leaving; that plane was no doubt out of the way on the “north side” of the airport and, in reality, the actions of the 15 were specifically intended only to disrupt the deportation flight. The potential penalty for their actions is life imprisonment.

By comparison, the unprecedented disruption caused by the deliberate flying of drones at Gatwick has prevented over 800 planes and over 350,000 people from legitimate travel. This deliberate drone activity must surely warrant charges under Section 1 (2) (b) of the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990, whereas the use of this law for the Stansted 15 was wholly disproportionate.

Christine Bainbridge

Saffron Walden, Essex

• Thank goodness we have Chris Grayling as secretary of state for transport to sort out the drone crisis, ably supported by Gavin Williamson at the MoD. I’m sure, like me, many others will sleep securely.

Jol Miskin

Sheffield

• Stranded at Barcelona airport due to the Gatwick drone attack, I switched to the next available flight to Heathrow. BA’s response to the problem was to charge £710 for a seat that would normally cost £286. Merry Christmas, Mr Cruz?

Terry Hunt

London

• Why was such chaos allowed to continue for so long with these drones at Gatwick? Surely a military helicopter and a soldier with a 12-bore gun could knock the pests out of the sky pronto. No wonder we can’t win any struggles, in Afghanistan or anywhere else these days. Never was so little achieved by so many.

Mike Evans

Shobdon, Herefordshire

• So the technology wasn’t available to take down a drone. Are these the same people who insist they have nailed a technological solution for the Irish border?

Brian Robinson

Daingean, Co Offaly, Ireland

• I am intensely sorry for all those whose Christmases were spoiled by the drone, but oh, the joy of not hearing Brexit as the only significant news story for a couple of days.

Ruth Coppard

Sheffield

• It might be said that the chaotic scenes at Gatwick differ from those at Westminster only insofar as one is the location of unravellers trapped, scanning a clean, dry bone whereas the other is that of travellers unwrapped, planning a scene by drone.

Fr Alec Mitchell

Manchester

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