London- London’s Heathrow airport briefly suspended departures from one of its terminals on Friday for security reasons, an airport spokeswoman said.
She said the suspension at terminal 3 had been caused by “a security issue” but did not elaborate.
“Departures were suspended for a short time from terminal 3 due to a security issue. We are very sorry to any passengers whose journeys are affected,” she added.
London’s Metropolitan Police said there was a report of a luggage X-ray having found a suspicious item.
“We are working with Heathrow terminal 3 after a report of a suspicious item detected by an X-ray of luggage,” police said in a statement.
Tim Chambers, a passenger on a British Airways flight to Bilbao said his plane was held on the tarmac for two hours due to a suspected “security lapse”, with each plane due to depart being searched by armed police.
He said the captain had told passengers a man had grabbed his bag and run after it was pulled aside to be checked.
The security alert came the day after a man arriving at Heathrow on a flight from Turkey was arrested on suspicion of terrorism-related crime.
The man was detained by the Met’s counter-terror squad as he stepped off a plane from Istanbul on Thursday evening.
Police said the 30-year-old was arrested on suspicion of plotting terrorist attacks and training terrorists.
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.
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