Passengers have been left furious as they face cancellations and delays after four hours of evacuation chaos.
Thousands of holiday-makers remain stranded at the airport – despite police revealing that the pair arrested over a ‘prohibited package’ were allowed to continue on their way.
The UK’s second busiest airport was closed to new passengers for much of today as Sussex Police deployed its bomb disposal unit following the discovery.
The incident caused mass disruption to outbound and inbound flights, while train and bus services were not stopping at the airport. The monorail station at the North Terminal connecting to the South packed with people.
Raging passengers condemned the events as ‘absolute chaos’, saying they were ‘disappointed’ and ‘tired’ after being held in suspense for hours.
More than 50 departures and arrivals are now said to have been cancelled, with British Airways halting at least 30 departures to Spain, Portugal, Trinidad and Islamabad, travel expert Simon Calder reports.
Spanish airline Vueling turned planes back towards their original destinations, while other flights were pushed back because there are no passengers to fly.
Airline consumer reasearchers CMAC Group have now warned of imminent disaster as delays combine with weather alerts to spark disruption across the travel sector.
Peter Slater, the company’s CEO, said: ‘With Gatwick Airport on security alert and severe weather expected this week, the risk of a travel disruption disaster feels imminent.
‘Recent evidence of stranded passengers hitchhiking and walking to and from the airport, exposes just how vulnerable the travel ecosystem is to unplanned disruption.
‘These situations test every aspect of the industry’s preparedness, challenging operators to act swiftly and decisively. Robust contingency plans, effective communication and real-time adaptability are essential to avoiding disaster and minimising chaos.’
Police did not elaborate further on the nature of the discovery – but are understood not to be linking the incident to an earlier bomb scare at the US Embassy in London. depart from Gatwick Airport today – more than 60,600 seats. A further 318 flights of 61,400 seats were scheduled to arrive.
According to aviation analytics website Cirium, 316 flights were scheduled to depart from Gatwick Airport today – more than 60,600 seats. A further 318 flights of 61,400 seats were scheduled to arrive.
And former Army intelligence officer Philip Ingram told the process of dealing with suspect luggage was delicate – and could not be rushed.
‘This is something they will have trained for (but) it’s difficult to assess the timescale,’ he said.
‘You’ve got a lot of moving parts, bomb disposal coming in, they have to work out their approach and make an assessment (of the luggage).
‘They will look at it from the outside, get information from the staff that have been up close with it, potentially getting specialist equipment in to do X-rays.
‘Every possible precaution is put in and the overriding factor is the safety of the public, airport staff and security staff.’
understands the operation at Gatwick had been elevated to gold command – the highest response level.
He added that while passenger disruption could not be avoided, airports such as Gatwick were well-trained to respond.
‘When a suspected item is found it will look like chaos for the passengers because there will be a lack of information.
‘For the security staff, they will know something that has triggered their suspicion sufficiently to trigger an evacuation protocol.
‘There are police, necessary outside agencies, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, the MOD need to be informed if EOD is going in, and the relevant ministerial department in Whitehall.
‘It won’t seem like it for the passengers but it’s a well-oiled machine.
‘That this is happening while moving passengers to the other terminal to make sure flights can keep coming in and out, it is remarkable.
‘The airports will have standard operating procedures for this – a big manual that sits there and if the ‘oh no’ moment happens it’s pulled off the shelf.
‘It has everything they need so police, fire, everybody can jack in, phone numbers of people to call and what they need to get the operation going.’
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.’
It added: ‘There are some delays and cancellations. Passengers should contact their airline for any updates on flights.’
Thousands of passengers were seen outside the terminal and the surrounding area in videos posted online after the terminal shut for several hours.
Emergency foil blankets were distributed to some of the passengers who were waiting in the cold, social media pictures showed.
Witnesses told they had seen police with ‘explosive’ patches on their jackets and sniffer dogs entering the terminal.
One passenger told a reporter: ‘Nothing much is happening here. The passengers know nothing.’
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.’
Ms Sealy said they were promised to be put on to 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.
Patricia Lima, from Brazil, who was due to fly to the US following a holiday in the UK, was among passengers at London Victoria struggling to reach the airport.
The 36-year-old said she was ‘disappointed’ and ‘tired’, adding: ‘I don’t feel well when we don’t have much information.’
Gatwick Airport said in an earlier statement on X: ‘A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident.
‘Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing.
‘Safety and security of our passengers and staff remains our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.’
Police said the discovery of the package, understood to be in the security screening area of the South Terminal, necessitated the creation of a cordon for the safety of passengers and staff.
Video shared on social media showed scores of passengers walking outside the terminal as security staff probed the incident.
Travellers were handed water bottles and foil blankets as they waited in the cold for further news.
Those who were on planes bound for the South Terminal faced a wait as airport bosses figured out what to do with them. Many have since been transported to the North Terminal for onward travel.
Italian Wizz Air passenger Serena Danna said she was ‘locked in the plane’ after her flight landed. She was later transferred to the other building.
Passenger Andy Betts, 50, was meant to be heading off for a long weekend in Rome with his family.
Mr Betts, from West Morley in Kent, told : ‘We were meant to be taking off at 12.30. We were just about to go through security at 10.30am when they closed the security checks area and took us outside. They said it was a complete evacuation.’
He said some airport staff had since gone back inside – along with police bearing ‘explosive’ patches on their jackets. Two of the officers had sniffer dogs.
‘Gatwick has brought out some water for us – when the sun’s out it’s alright,’ he added optimistically.
‘We saw police with ‘explosive’ on their jacket go in – two of them had sniffer dogs. It’s just one of these things, isn’t it.’
Taya Willis, 30, was due to fly to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, for a weekend break at 11.25am this morning.
The teacher from Merton, London, said she saw people ‘running’ after the evacuation was ordered
‘I was there for about 20 minutes and then was suddenly told my a member of staff that everyone had to leave as the terminal was being evacuated, it’s very scary.
‘No one can leave or come out. Lots of people were running, all the shops have been closed up.
‘It looks like Covid again. Everything is just deserted – I’ve never seen anything like it.’
Another said he got through customs until he was then ordered to leave the terminal.
He wrote on X: ‘Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport.
‘Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down and 1000’s of all over the streets and carparks waiting.’
Cambridge passenger Jon Hunt, who had been due to fly to Florida, told the BBC: ‘We were guided downstairs, nobody told us why. We were waiting for about 20 minutes on the check-in floor before someone said everyone here has to leave.
‘There are now hundreds of people standing in the cold not knowing what’s going on.’
Armed police were pictured inside the airport guarding the entrance to the Departures area, which has been blocked with a large shutter.
It came after a controlled explosion was carried out at the US Embassy in London earlier today. No link has been established between the incidents.
Witnesses said roads around the embassy were closed to traffic and armed police officers and the fire service are at the scene in Nine Elms.
A ‘loud bang’ was reported in the area shortly after a cordon was put into place.
The Met confirmed this was a ‘controlled explosion’ as part of their investigation.
A spokesperson for the Met Police said of the embassy incident: ‘We’re aware of speculation online about an incident in the vicinity of the US Embassy in Nine Elms.
‘Cordons are in place in the area as a precaution while officers investigate a suspect package.
‘We can confirm that the ‘loud bang’ reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers.
‘Enquiries are still ongoing and cordons will remain in place for the time being.’
And that followed an alleged bomb scare at Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus Station on Wednesday. Police were called at 1.10pm and a controlled explosion was carried out.
Train services were halted while performances at the adjacent Royal Concert Hall were cancelled and the nearby Glasgow Caledonian University was evacuated.
Three men have since been arrested in connection with the possession of offensive weapons.