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UK – Local pair quizzed over Gatwick drones

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BBC – A 47-year-old man and 54-year-old woman from Crawley are being questioned over multiple drone sightings that brought Gatwick Airport to a standstill.

Flights were grounded for more than 36 hours when drones were first spotted close to the runway on Wednesday night.

The airport has since reopened and flights were operating on schedule, but there were still long queues and some knock-on delays, a spokesman said.

Police are searching a house in Crawley and the pair remain in custody.

They were arrested on Friday evening and were being questioned on suspicion of disrupting civil aviation “to endanger or likely to endanger safety of operations or persons”, Sussex Police said.

The force said it was deploying “a range of tactics” to prevent further incursions from drones following the arrests.

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Strategies were in place in case any further unmanned aircraft were seen inside the airport perimeter, it added.

Supt James Collis said: “We continue to urge the public, passengers and the wider community around Gatwick to be vigilant and support us by contacting us immediately if they believe they have any information that can help us in bringing those responsible to justice.”

The airport said it aimed to run “a full schedule” of 757 flights on Saturday, carrying 124,484 passengers.

A Gatwick spokesman said: “Many people will be due to fly today and there will be longer delays perhaps.

“But broadly things are going in the right direction. By the end of the weekend, things should be back to normal.”

The Shorrock family, from Oxford, arrived at the airport to fly to Innsbruck in the Austrian Alps for a skiing trip.

Vivienne Shorrock said she was “relieved” to have avoided the disruption.

“Some people have suffered real losses by not getting where they want to go to be with family,” she said.

Her husband David joked the drama was a “nice distraction from Brexit”.

Passengers have been warned to expect some delays and cancellations and advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport.

About 1,000 aircraft were either cancelled or diverted and about 140,000 passengers disrupted during three days of disruption.

The airport was forced to shut its runway for spells on Wednesday and Friday and for all of Thursday.

The drones were first spotted at about 21:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Every time the airport sought to reopen the runway on Thursday, the drones returned.

Authorities finally regained control over the airfield after the Army deployed unidentified military technology to guard the area, reassuring the airport that it was safe enough to fly from about 06:00 on Friday.

The Israeli-developed Drone Dome system, which can detect drones using radar, is believed to have been used. It can jam communications between the drone and its operator, enabling authorities to take control of and land the device.

But John Murray, professor of robotics and autonomous systems at the University of Hull, told the BBC the problem with this system was “you can find the drone but not the person operating it”.

“You can take the drone out of the sky but you won’t capture the person and that’s what you want to do.

“You can get a second-hand drone for between £200 and £300 so if you take it down, they can just go out and buy another one,” he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the disruption.

The drones caused misery for travellers, with many sleeping on the airport floor as they searched for alternative routes to holidays and Christmas family gatherings.

Thousands of passengers returning to the UK were either stranded abroad or diverted to other UK airports.

A handful of flights due to arrive into Gatwick on Saturday were cancelled, according to the airport’s website, including an easyJet service from Milan-Linate and a TUI flight from Bridgetown, Barbados.

A Gatwick spokesman said: “Safety is Gatwick’s top priority and we are grateful for passengers’ continued patience as we work to get them to their final destination in time for Christmas.”

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]