Gatwick Airport has evacuated “a large part” of the south terminal following the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item in luggage”, Sussex Police have confirmed.
Thousands of passengers are currently gathered in the airport waiting for an update, with flight disruptions expected into the afternoon.
In a statement to The Independent, Sussex police said: “Police were called to the south terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20am on Friday (22 November) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with.
“As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport.
“This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the south terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible.”
A security cordon is now in place inside the terminal.
Police officers were seen arriving at the airport at 11.53am.
Gatwick Express trains are not stopping at the Gatwick Airport station.
Travellers are being urged to avoid the station.
Flight disruption is now underway at Gatwick, which is the UK’s second busiest airport.
The Spanish budget airline Vueling has ordered two flights from Barcelona to Gatwick, as well as a single flight from Seville, to turn around and return to their starting points.
The corresponding outbound flights to Spain will also be grounded.
The Sussex airport confirmed the news in a social media post, with passengers expected to face disruption to their flights.
“A large part of the south terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident,” a statement read.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the south terminal while this is ongoing.
“Safety and security of our passengers and staff remains our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
The airport has confirmed that the north terminal has not been affected by the evacuation.
Several flights on the south terminal departures board are currently listed as being delayed.
These include:
- KM Malta 1155 to Malta (KM117)
- Air Baltic 1155 to Malta (BT6060)
- easyJet 1210 to Hurghada (EZY8745)
- easyJet 1230 to Rome (EZY6506)
- easyJet 1250 to Antalya…
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