About 30 people from an island in the Indian Ocean are refusing to leave Gatwick in protest at their treatment by the British authorities.
The group, British citizens from Diego Garcia in the Chagos archipelago, want to stay in Crawley.
They were forced to leave Diego Garcia in the Seventies when it was taken over by the British government for use as a US and British military base and were rehoused in Mauritius.
But high unemployment prompted them to fly to Britain.
A Gatwick spokesman said their point of entry into the UK was Heathrow, not Gatwick, which was causing problems.
Airport authorities were working with West Sussex County Council to try to remedy the situation.
A High Court ruling is due in a few weeks' time on whether the islanders can return to Diego Garcia.
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