Drones disrupt flights at Singapore airport for second time in a week

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Unauthorized drone flying caused the second spate of delays and flight diversions in less than a week at Singapore's Changi airport on Monday night, the city-state's aviation authority said.

Around 18 departures and arrivals were delayed and seven flights were diverted from the global transit hub due to “bad weather and unauthorized drone activities”, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said in a statement on Tuesday.

A similar incident involving drone flying affected 38 flights on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.

Authorities are investigating.

A surge in the availability of drones has become an increasing security concern for airports around the world.

In December, drone sightings caused three days of travel chaos at London's Gatwick airport, resulting in the cancellation or diversion of about 1,000 flights at an estimated cost of more than 50 million pounds ($64 million).