Birmingham Airport suspends operations over security incident

Birmingham Airport temporarily suspended all flights after there was believed to have been a security incident on an Aer Lingus plane.

West Midlands Police said they were called on Tuesday at about 16:00 BST after a report of a suspicious item on a flight to Belfast.

The airport reopened at 18:00 BST, they added.

It was being treated as “a false call” and “the item is not suspicious,” a spokesperson said.

The plane was diverted shortly after take-off and landed back at Birmingham Airport just after 16:00 BST.

All passengers and crew were evacuated and specialist officers including the dog unit searched the plane, West Midlands Police said.

Aer Lingus said the undeclared item on their regional flight from Birmingham to Belfast was not a security risk and their teams were “working to accommodate impacted passengers”.

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson added the aircraft landed safely and “all customers due to travel should make their way to the airport and check in as normal”.

Several flights at the airport were delayed by more than two hours, according to departure updates on the airport’s website.

A spokesperson for East Midlands Airport confirmed the airport had received a number of flights that have been diverted since Birmingham closed, including a Ryanair flight from Lanzarote.

Train services were also at a standstill at nearby Birmingham International railway station and West Midlands Railway confirmed it was due to the incident at the airport.

Network Rail said at about 18:20 BST all rail lines have reopened but disruption was expected until about 19:00 BST.

Joanne Roberts and her two-year-old daughter were stuck on a plane to Egypt which was due to leave Birmingham Airport at 15:25 BST.

Ms Roberts said she was on the plane since 15:00 BST.

“The only thing we’ve been officially told by airplane staff is that another plane called mayday around 15:45 and then once the plane had landed we were told emergency services are here,” she told the BBC.

“Everything else people have found out through social media.

“Airplane staff had handed out water, Sudoku and colouring for the children but we’re being told we will be updated every 20 mins.”

At about 18:10 BST, Ms Roberts told the BBC airline staff had told passengers the runway was due to reopen soon.

More than 10 million passengers travelled through Birmingham Airport in 2022, according to figures released last year.

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