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Bomb fears forced hundreds of holidaymakers to evacuate Birmingham Airport on Wednesday afternoon, as flights were canceled and delayed.
Passengers were ordered to leave the airport, the seventh largest in the United Kingdom, while bomb disposal experts rushed to examine a suspicious car parked near the building.
Flights to Paris, Madrid and Tenerife were among those delayed, with some passengers forced to wait on the tarmac for hours amid the travel chaos. At least one flight was cancelled.
“I sat on a plane at the airport – I’ve been here for an hour already,” one passenger said in response to the airport’s social media post.
Were you affected by this incident? Email alexander.butler@independent.co.uk
Passengers wait to enter Birmingham Airport after it was evacuated following a bomb alert (Jacob King/PA Wire)
Another added: “My mum is stuck on a plane on the runway in Birmingham on her return from Spain. “No one is allowed to get off the plane.”
West Midlands Police said customers were evacuated and a security cordon was put in place after reports of a suspicious vehicle outside the airport terminal.
“Following an inspection by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Team, the vehicle was deemed safe. The vehicle is no longer being treated as suspicious,” a force spokesman said.
He added: “The safety of everyone was our main concern, and as a precaution, the airport was partially evacuated so that the vehicle could be searched and evaluated.”
The airport reopened after hours of disruption and passengers were advised to check the latest flight information before arriving at terminals.
Airport staff wait beside a police cordon after a bomb alert (Jacob King/PA Wire)
Amid the chaos, one passenger said on social media: “Damn, I was supposed to go on holiday and I just arrived at Birmingham airport, everything is closed. This is typical…”
Another frustrated passenger added: “I’m stuck on a plane, claustrophobic, begging to get off. How long will this situation take?
This is the second time the airport has been evacuated this year after a security incident on a plane in mid-April.
A specialized police unit searched the plane after finding an unidentified package on an Aer Lingus flight that took off from Belfast.
In that case, police described the incident as a “very well-intentioned hoax call” as the airport remained closed throughout the afternoon.
Passengers wait outside Birmingham Airport as flights are canceled and delayed after bomb fears (Jacob King/PA Wire)
A Birmingham Airport spokesperson told The Independent: “The airport is working closely with its airline partners to minimize any potential inconvenience to customers.
“The majority of flights that were on the ground have now left. There was only one flight cancelled.
“Customers are still advised to check the status of their flights with their airline. We apologize again for the inconvenience caused to our passengers.
“The safety and security of everyone at the airport was our first priority as we worked to resolve this incident with our police partners.”
