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A airport popular with holidaying Brits has been forced to close this evening following reports of a drone in the area. An initial translated post on X from Alicante-Elche airport, which is around about 9km southwest of the city of Alicante in Spain, read: "Alicante-Elche airport closed until approximately 10 p.m. due to possible detection of drones in the vicinity of the airport Several flights diverted to Valencia and Murcia, check with airlines and @aena for flight status updates." A further post then added: "It’s 10 o’clock at night and the airport remains closed. For now, @aena has not provided information on a possible reopening time. As soon as we have any updates, we’ll let you know." While a third post from the airport explained that there was no more information it could share about the incident 'at the moment' and that it could only open operate again once the situation was deemed safe. It read: "For the moment, there is no further information about it. Here in the area, nothing can be seen, but they need to ensure it is safe to operate again." By 9:40pm, however, Alicante-Elche airport announced that it is likely for normal service to be resumed by 11pm. "The latest information we have is that it appears that at 23:00 the rate 0 will be lifted, and operations will start to return to "normal" (if you can call it that). We will keep you updated," the post read. It has not yet been confirmed if the drone was operated illegally or if it somehow veered into the area by mistake. Either way, flying drones near airports is strictly prohibited under Spanish law and perpetrators risk being slapped with fines of up to a staggering €225,000 (£196,400). In a separate incident back home, flights at Edinburgh Airport were delayed earlier this month after a drone was spotted flying in the area. An airport spokesperson said at the time: “Flights were held due to the presence of a drone within the exclusion zone, which police investigated. "It is imperative that drone operators are aware of their responsibilities and are aware of the flight restriction zones and potential penalties. The safety of passengers and staff is always paramount." For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
