Thousands of passengers travelling through Gatwick were hit by severe delays on Friday after the airport’s South Terminal was evacuated following reports of a suspicious package.
Staff at the South Terminal discovered a “suspected prohibited item” at 8.20am on Friday, prompting a significant police operation and leaving passengers unable to check in for four hours.
Two people were detained by police but subsequently allowed to continue with their journeys after a bomb disposal team made the package safe, Sussex Police said.
The airport released a statement at 2.44pm which said: “The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police.
“The south terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”
People at the airport described “chaotic” scenes as passengers were unable to board flights.
By mid-afternoon, officials at the airport said the security alert had been resolved and a security cordon around the terminal was lifted.
The disruption caused airlines to cancel a number of flights to and from the south terminal, including at least 16 departures and 13 arrivals by British Airways.
A spokesperson for Gatwick airport told the BBC that there had been “around 40 cancellations” following the disruption out of over 240 scheduled flights.
A BA flight to Orlando departed one hour and 49 minutes late.
Denice Sealy, who was travelling to Malta for her birthday, was in the security line but was told to turn around and go outside.
“When we got outside we didn’t know where to go because there were no staff there,” Ms Sealy said.
“Eventually, we just walked along to a car park.
“With regards to passengers and communication, it’s been absolute chaos.”
Denice Sealy, who was travelling to Malta for her birthday, said they were promised to be put on a shuttle bus to the north terminal but it did not arrive.
“In the end, a load of us ended up walking from the south terminal to the north terminal, and it was freezing,” she said.
One video posted on X by former BBC journalist Deborah Cohen showed passengers being given foil blankets to keep warm in cold temperatures.
Train services were also briefly suspended, as the railway station is attached to the Terminal, but have since resumed.
The airport said in a statement: “We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while this situation was resolved. Safety and security is always our top priority.
“There are some delays and cancellations, passengers should contact their airline for any updates on flights.”
Gatwick is the UK’s second busiest airport and handles around 46 million passengers each year.
Aviation analytics website Cirium said 316 flights were scheduled to depart from the airport on Friday, with a total of more than 60,600 seats.
A further 318 flights were scheduled to arrive, with more than 61,400 seats.
