Controlled Explosion At Leeds Bradford Airport After Suspicious Package Found

A police bomb squad was sent to the airport.

A controlled explosion has been carried out on a suspicious package at Leeds Bradford Airport.

A police bomb squad was sent to the airport shortly after 8pm on Saturday following the discovery of the suspicious item.

Passengers and staff were evacuated from the airport and arriving and departing flights were delayed.

A controlled explosion was carried out on a suspicious package at Leeds Bradford Airport. File image.
A controlled explosion was carried out on a suspicious package at Leeds Bradford Airport. File image.
PA Archive/PA Images

There were reports of passengers spending an hour stuck on grounded planes while the item was dealt with by West Yorkshire Police’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.

The force said enquiries were continuing into the circumstances of the alert, although the incident is not believed to have been “malicious or terror-related”.

The Air Traffic Control Tower at Leeds Bradford Airport evacuated, passengers on aircrafts on ground unable to leave. ⚠

— Flight Alerts ⚠ (@FlightAlerts777) May 13, 2017

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “At 8.09pm today (Saturday, May 13) police were called to a report of a suspicious package at Leeds Bradford Airport.

“Following established procedures to protect passenger and public safety a cordon was put in place as a precaution.

“The airport was closed for a short time whilst the matter was being investigated.

“Officers from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team attended and the item was subject to a controlled explosion.”

Passengers reported being kept on planes as the terminal was cleared, while at least one inbound flight was reportedly delayed from taking off at its departure airport.

Passengers tweeted their experiences of being caught up in the security scare.

Sat for an hour now on the plane due to security issues at Leeds Bradford Airport.
Tea and coffee now being offered. Hurray!

— Sean Hornby (@Sean_Hornby74) May 13, 2017

At Dublin airport being told leeds Bradford is closed and we can't fly. Anyone know why? #leedsbradfordairport

— Vicky Myers (@vicky_myers1) May 13, 2017

Shortly after 12.30am on Sunday airport officials said they had re-opened the terminal and operations had re-started.

Passengers with any queries were told to contact their airline directly.

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