Birmingham Airport in central England was evacuated as a precautionary measure after a report of a suspicious vehicle, police said on Wednesday.
Travellers had to leave the terminal and passengers remained on aircraft, while motorists were turned away and rail services were cancelled.
Birmingham Airport, about 21km east of Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city, said on X that it had suspended operations. An airport official said operations were returning to normal by about 3.30pm.
Flights to Dubai, Qatar, Turkey and Egypt were all delayed on Wednesday afternoon.
West Midlands Police said the evacuation was a "precautionary measure" while the vehicle was searched and assessed. "Following a search by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EDO) team the vehicle was deemed to be safe. The vehicle is no longer being treated as suspicious," it said.
Birmingham Airport is the UK's seventh-busiest hub with flights to destinations including Egypt, Dublin, Amsterdam, Palma and Tenerife. It is used by airlines including easyJet, Ryanair TUI Airways and Jet2.com.
Passengers with luggage left the airport on foot, with some of them being taken to the nearby National Exhibition Centre.
All flights were suspended for several hours and travellers were told to contact their airline and check for delays.
Passengers on social media described being struck on the tarmac and not being allowed to disembark.
“Sat on a plane in the airport – been here an hour already,” one user said.
Another said: “My mum is stuck on a plane on the runway in Birmingham on return from Spain. No one is allowed off the plane.”
West Midlands Fire Service has officers at the airport who are “working closely with police, ambulance and airport staff”.
Bus services are unable to stop at terminals or the international station, National Express West Midlands said.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
