Gatwick Airport terminal reopens after security alert led to evacuation

The security alert at Gatwick Airport ran in tandem with a second incident at the US Embassy in London.

LAST UPDATE | 22 Nov 2024

GATWICK AIRPORT’S SOUTH terminal has reopened after a security alert was cleared by police, the airport has said.

The building was closed to new passengers for more than four hours today as Sussex Police deployed its bomb disposal unit because of “the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage”.

The force said it was called to the UK’s second busiest airport at 8.20am.

Passengers who had not cleared security were required to evacuate at around 10.30am.

The airport released a statement at 2.44pm which said: “The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police.

“The south terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”

It added: “There are some delays and cancellations. Passengers should contact their airline for any updates on flights.”

Sussex Police said in a statement that an explosive ordnance disposal team was deployed to the airport “as a precaution” and a security cordon was put in place.

We have concluded our investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport.

Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/ASxpPd7isA
— Sussex Police (@sussex_police) November 22, 2024

Around 100,000 passengers were set to travel through the airport on Friday.

A number of flights to and from the south terminal were cancelled, including at least 16 departures and 13 arrivals by British Airways.

Other flights continued to depart, but were only carrying passengers who had passed through security before the evacuation.

US Embassy

Police officers also carried out a controlled explosion after a suspicious package – which turned out to be a “hoax device” – was found outside the US Embassy.

London’s Metropolitan Police force conducted the explosion after setting up cordons near the high-security site in Nine Elms, just south of the River Thames.

“We can confirm that the ‘loud bang’ reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the force said in a post on X.

“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device,” it added.

The US embassy said earlier in a post on the same platform that local authorities were investigating “a suspicious package” outside the building.

It added that police had closed a nearby road “out of an abundance of caution”.