THOUSANDS of Australians have been left stranded by the shutdown of London’s Gatwick airport after dozens of drone sightings grounded all flights.

Britain called in the army yesterday as tens of thousands of passengers were stuck and forced to sleep on the floor of the airport on one of the busiest days of the year.

The airport, which closed its only runway Wednesday night after “reports of two drones flying in and around the airfield”, said late yesterday it could not be reopened following further appearances of the devices.

“Gatwick’s runway remains unavailable because of continued drone sightings,” it said.

Police and airport authorities believe they were being flown in a deliberate act to disrupt the airport.

The chaos has seen hundreds of Australians making inquiries to insurers for advice on what they could claim after their flights were cancelled.

1Cover Travel Safety Expert, Richard Warburton told News Corp that they had seen a “huge spike” in travellers asking about their insurance claim options already.

“We have seen a huge spike in customer queries, with hundreds of people contacting us about flight disruptions and flights cancellation to the UK,” he said.

“Our phones have been red hot the for the last 24 hours as people naturally panic about their Christmas plans. With London Gatwick serving 45 million people per year, and being a natural thoroughfare for many Aussies and Kiwis going elsewhere in Europe, we expected the chaos at Gatwick airport to be a huge headache for our Australian and Kiwi customers.”

Mr Warburton said those stranded should immediately contact their airline.

“The first thing customers should do in a situation like this is contact their airline to rearrange flights, accommodation, and compensation if required,” he said.

“If the disruption of their journey is excessive, customers may have a provision to claim for additional meal and accommodation expenses that they incur.

“But, as a general rule, this provision to claim is only available if airlines are not providing compensation.”

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of people who visited Australia from the UK in October were 60,800.

The number of UK residents who returned to the UK in the same month was 80,400.

ABS data shows that last year, about 650,000 Australians visited the UK.

There have been 746,700 international visitor from the UK in Australia so far this year.

Compare Insurance Associate Director Natalie Ball also told News Corp that Australians stranded by the shutdown should look at their insurance policy as they may be able to make a claim.

“It’s an unexpected event that is outside an airline’s and passenger’s control, and travel insurances policies do cover for cancellations. But people should look into their policy they have,” she said.

More than 760 flights were cancelled and police will not be able to reopen the runway until they have detained the culprit or can be certain the drones are gone — amid fears the devices could bring down packed passenger jets.

The unusually large drones had been spotted near the airfield more than 50 times over the 24-hour period, police said.

“We think it may have been adapted and developed,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley of the devices, adding officers were reviewing CCTV footage to identify the make and model.

He said firearms officers were now considering shooting the device down -- despite authorities earlier saying that would be dangerous due to the danger of stray bullets.

The runway closure stranded tens of thousands of travellers days before Christmas -- and prompted the unusual military operation.

Specialist equipment has been deployed by the MOD (Ministry of Defence) to Gatwick airport to assist Sussex Police.

“We are there to assist and do everything we can,” Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told Sky News television, declining to give the troops’ exact role and adding that it followed a request from local police.

Gisele Fenech, 43, who was travelling to Malta, was among those stranded at the airport.

“We’re meeting family and it’s my daughter’s birthday today so it’s gone all wrong. We’ve been looking forward to this for so long,” she told AFP.

“Everyone’s trying to get home for Christmas.”

Police said that there was nothing to suggest that the incident was terrorism-related.

Around 10,000 people had by yesterday been affected by the shutdown that came near the height of the busy Christmas travel season.

These included 2000 travellers whose planes were not permitted to take off from Gatwick, 2000 stuck at their points of origin and 6000 diverted to other airports, airport officials said.

“My son and his partner are delayed 24 hours travelling to Gold Coast, Australia, for Christmas with her parents for the first time in three years.

“@10DowningStreet tell the police to shoot it down. UK is a laughing stock,” one man named Stuart Wilde said on Twitter.

Gatwick, which briefly closed its runway last year when a drone was spotted in the area,

serves more than 228 destinations in 74 countries and handles 45 million passengers a year.

It is the eighth-busiest airport in Europe and sits behind Mumbai as the world’s busiest single-runway air hub.

Flying a drone near an airport, or at an altitude of over 400 feet, is illegal in Britain and carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Pilots have reported numerous near-misses with drones near airports in recent years in Britain, and aviation authorities warn there is a growing risk that a mid-air collision could cause a major disaster.

Strong sales of small consumer drones have led to repeated warnings about a possible threat to commercial aviation.