LONDON, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- A couple from Britain's West Sussex were identified Saturday as the pair arrested by British police investigating the Gatwick drone chaos that saw more than 140,000 people's Christmas plans ruined.

The two people arrested over the Gatwick drone chaos have been revealed as a 47-year-old man and 53-year-old woman from a nearby town named Crawley.

They were arrested in the town around eight kilometers from the airport in Britain on Friday night.

Around 1,000 flights have been cancelled or diverted since drones were spotted inside the perimeter of the airport on Wednesday night, affecting approximately 140,000 passengers.

Sussex Police said the pair are being held on suspicion of "disrupting services of civil aviation aerodrome to endanger or likely to endanger safety of operations or persons."

Gatwick Airport said on Saturday morning that the runway was open but passengers were urged to check with their airline before travelling.

Long queues and some knock-on delays remained at the airport as airlines worked to clear a backlog of flights.