Gatwick Airport has evacuated “a large part” of the south terminal following the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item in luggage”, Sussex Police have confirmed.
Thousands of passengers are currently gathered in the airport waiting for an update, with flight disruptions expected into the afternoon.
In a statement to The Independent, Sussex police said: “Police were called to the south terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20am on Friday (22 November) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with.
“As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport.
“This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the south terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible.”
A security cordon is now in place inside the terminal.
Police officers were seen arriving at the airport at 11.53am.
Gatwick Express trains are not stopping at the Gatwick Airport station.
Travellers are being urged to avoid the station.
Flight disruption is now underway at Gatwick, which is the UK’s second busiest airport.
The Spanish budget airline Vueling has ordered two flights from Barcelona to Gatwick, as well as a single flight from Seville, to turn around and return to their starting points.
The corresponding outbound flights to Spain will also be grounded.
The Sussex airport confirmed the news in a social media post, with passengers expected to face disruption to their flights.
“A large part of the south terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident,” a statement read.
“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.”
The airport has confirmed that the north terminal has not been affected by the evacuation.
Several flights on the south terminal departures board are currently listed as being delayed.
These include easyJet 1325 to Lanzarote (EZY6305) and easyJet 1335 to Inverness (EZY847).
Passengers on the Vueling 1300 flight to Bilbao (VY6302), the Iberia 1300 flight to Bilbao (IB5609) and the British Airways 1300 flight to Bilbao (BA8088) are all being advised to “enquire with airline”.
Some flights are still landing at south terminal, the airport has confirmed.
Passengers have been seen wrapped in emergency foil blankets to shield themselves from the cold as they wait.
Pictures posted on social media show the travellers anxiously waiting for updates amid travel chaos at the south terminal.
Others have been waiting on stationary planes for 90 minutes or more.
Train passenger information website National Rail Enquiries said: “The police are dealing with an incident at Gatwick airport.
“The station and airport are currently being evacuated.
“Services are able to run through the station and area but will not call at Gatwick airport at this time.
“Please avoid travelling to the station whilst this incident is ongoing.
“This is expected to continue until approximately 2pm.”
Pictures and video footage shared on social media show hordes of passengers waiting in the airport terminal.
Waiting passengers are being issued with“gallons of water”.
Writing on X, one passenger said: “Incredibly impressed with Gatwick Airport and their team… safely evacuated everyone from the terminal and now bringing gallons of water around for everyone.. top job!”
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 316 flights are scheduled to depart Gatwick Airport today – equating to over 60,650 seats.
A further 318 flights are scheduled to arrive into Gatwick Airport today – equating to over 61,400 seats.
Gatwick’s south terminal is used by dozens of airlines, notably British Airways, Ryanair, Aegean Airlines, Wizz Air, Air Malta and a number of Chinese airlines. Some easyJet flights operate from the south terminal, but most use the north.
Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent, knows Gatwick well.
“While information from the airport is still sketchy, what I infer from the statement so far is that there is concern about an item found during the security search area”, he said.
“This was clearly deemed sufficiently serious for the entire check-in area, as well as the railway station, to be cleared. Passengers who are already ‘airside’ are likely to be able to remain there.
“Arrivals are, I understand, being bussed to north terminal which is still operational. But there will be large queues building up; there is a limited amount of space.
“Meanwhile thousands of passengers hoping to fly away will be enduring a frustrating time, wondering whether they will make their flight – or whether it might be cancelled.”
The Independent has contacted the airport and Sussex Police for further information.