London: Police in Britain say it's possible the reported drones, which grounded flights at Gatwick Airport for one and a half days and caused chaos for more than 100,000 travellers, may have never existed.

The mind-boggling admission came as police released without charge a man and woman they had arrested on Friday night, and said they were no longer suspects.

The couple were named and shamed by the UK tabloid The Mail on Sunday, which published a large front-page photo of them with the headline, "Are These the Morons Who Ruined Christmas?"

Jason Tingley from Sussex Police told the BBC that there was no footage or photographs of the reported drones. There was "always a possibility that there may not have been any genuine drone activity in the first place."