The activists Linda Davidsen and Valerie Milner-Brown near Heathrow yesterday

Police have arrested nine people over plans by climate protesters to use drones to disrupt flights at Heathrow Airport today.

Two men were arrested within the airport’s exclusion zone in the early hours of the morning on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance, the Metropolitan Police said. Seven other individuals were detained pre-emptively yesterday.

The protest was organised by Heathrow Pause, a splinter group of the Extinction Rebellion movement. Drones are forbidden within the 5km exclusion zone surrounding the airport.

Scotland Yard announced that a dispersal order had also been implemented at Heathrow until 4.30pm on Sunday in order to “prevent criminal activity which poses a significant safety and security risk to the airport”.

Roger Hallam, the leader of Heathrow Pause and co-founder