Flights briefly suspended at London's Heathrow airport after drone sighting

Flights from London's Heathrow airport were halted on Tuesday after the airport said there had been sightings of a drone flown near Britain's busiest air hub.

"We are responding to a drone sighting at Heathrow," the airport said. "As a precautionary measure, we have stopped departures while we investigate. We apologise to passengers for any inconvenience this may cause."

Britain's Department of Transport on Monday said police forces would get additional powers to address the illegal use of drones following mass disruptions at London's Gatwick Airport in the run-up to Christmas.

Drone sightings brought an abrupt halt to operations at Britain's second-busiest airport between December 19 and 21, leading to the cancellation or diversion of about 1,000 flights.

"New legislation will give police officers the additional power to land drones and require users to produce the proper documentation," a statement from the department said.

The legislation will give police the power to "search premises and seize drones - including electronic data stored within the device," the statement added.

The Home Office will also begin to test counter-drone technology to help "prevent a repeat of incidents such as that recently experienced at Gatwick."