Rochester Airport will be affected by Olympic flight restrictions

Flights from a Kent airport face tough restrictions from tonight as the RAF takes control of the skies for the Olympics.

A flight control zone will be in place over the capital and parts of the county for the Games.

It means pilots wanting to take off from Rochester Airport will have to fill in more forms and tell the RAF exactly where they are going.

London's airspace goes into lockdown from midnight with a prohibited flight zone.

A wider area covering much of the south east, including parts of Kent, will be made a restricted zone.

It does not affect commercial flights, but pilots operating small aircrafts could be intercepted by military jets if they accidentally stray into an out-of-bounds area.

RAF Group Captain Rich Jacob said: "We need to understand what is flying in the airspace above London.

"Every effort will be made to identify that aircraft and every opportunity will be given to the pilot to regain his planned route.

"If that didn't happen we'd taken further action if necessary."