Birmingham Airport has been evacuated following a report of a suspicious vehicle on Wednesday afternoon.
Hundreds of people have been asked to leave the airport, which is the seventh largest in the UK, as police deal with the incident.
Passengers due to fly this afternoon have been advised to contact their airlines. Operations at the airport have been suspended, the airport said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “Birmingham Airport is currently being evacuated following a report of a suspicious vehicle. This is a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of passengers and staff.”
Transport for West Midlands has also said its buses are currently not stopping at the airport, which is located on the east side of the city.
It is the second time the airport has been evacuated this year following a security incident on an aircraft in April.
Have you been affected by this incident? Email alexander.butler@independent.co.uk
Watch: Birmingham airport evacuated and passengers taken to NEC after ‘suspicious vehicle’ scare
Alexander Butler23 October 2024 16:04
Analysis by The Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder
Earlier this year, many passengers were delayed at Birmingham airport due to long waits for security queues, with some passengers missing flights.
The airport boss hit back at criticism of the delays, saying a last-minute decision by government had created “a very difficult situation for us”.
Chief executive Nick Barton said most passengers were getting through security in under half-an-hour, with additional procedures in place to cope with peaks.
The West Midlands hub was the only major UK airport to comply with the 1 June 2024 deadline for installing “Next Generation” security scanners.
They are designed to allow security staff to get a much clearer picture of any potentially threatening items in passengers’ cabin baggage – and permit travellers to carry much larger quantities of liquids, aerosols and gels (“LAGs”) through the checkpoint than the 100ml container limit.
Birmingham airport invested £60m in the new equipment ahead of the summer peak. The…
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