British authorities deployed a bomb disposal team to London’s Gatwick Airport Friday morning after the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage prompted the evacuation of the facility’s South Terminal, disrupting travel plans for tens of thousands of passengers.
Sussex Police established a security cordon following the 8:20 a.m. alert at Britain’s second-busiest airport, located approximately 30 miles south of London. “As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport,” police said in a statement.
The incident caused significant disruption to weekend travel, affecting more than 600 scheduled flights carrying an estimated 121,000 passengers, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Social media videos showed thousands of displaced travelers gathered outside the terminal, with some receiving emergency foil blankets to combat the cold.
Airport authorities used social media platform X to inform passengers they were being kept outside the building while the investigation continued. Police advised people to avoid the area due to substantial traffic congestion around the airport.
The Gatwick incident occurred on the same day London police conducted a controlled explosion near the U.S. embassy in south London after discovering what was later determined to be a hoax package, though authorities indicated the events were unrelated.
