The Gatwick Drone meme refers to the December 2018 incident where Gatwick Airport was paralyzed for 33 hours following reports of drone sightings. Despite over 1,000 flight cancellations and a massive police investigation, no drone was ever recovered and no suspects were charged, leading the public to mock the situation as a case of mass hysteria or 'phantom' sightings. The meme typically uses images of police officers or airport staff looking intently at an empty sky, serving as a metaphor for searching for something that isn't there or an exaggerated response to a minor or non-existent problem. It has since become a staple for poking fun at institutional incompetence and overblown media panics.