George Rusu alleged to have used drone on field near runway on Christmas Eve

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A 38-year-old man has been charged with flying a drone near Heathrow airport days after a scare at Gatwick grounded more than 1,000 flights.

George Rusu allegedly used a drone on a field near the runway at Heathrow, Britain’s busiest airport, on Christmas Eve. The alleged incident happened just three days after Gatwick fully reopened on 21 December following three days of chaos affecting some 140,000 passengers.

Rusu, of Blunts Avenue, Hillingdon, will appear at Uxbridge magistrates court on Tuesday. He is charged with flying a “small unmanned aircraft without permission of air traffic control”, according to court documents.