London’s Gatwick Airport evacuated a substantial portion of its South terminal on Friday as a precaution while investigating a security incident, delaying traffic at the UK’s second-largest airport.
Passengers would be unable to enter the terminal while the evacuation is underway, according to a Gatwick post on X.
Cirium data show that approximately 630 flights are scheduled to arrive and depart from London’s second largest airport today.
Sussex police have set up a security perimeter in the terminal after “discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage.”
Police said they received a report at 8:20 a.m. and have dispatched an explosive ordnance disposal crew as a precaution.
Some roads around the South Terminal have also been closed, police said, advising people to avoid the area where possible.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman, Dave Pares, described the incident at Gatwick as an “evolving situation” in a regular briefing with journalists on Friday.
The South terminal is where airlines including British Airways, EasyJet Plc, Wizz Air Holdings Plc, TUI AG, Turkish Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and TAP Portugal operate from.
Gatwick is the second-largest airport in the London area, behind London Heathrow. Other airports in the capital include Luton and Stansted, which is located near Cambridge and serves mainly low-cost airlines.
