Glasgow airport evacuated after false alarm over suspicious package

Glasgow airport has given the all clear after bomb disposal squads investigating a suspect package found it to be harmless. Parts of the airport were evacuated and the army bomb disposal squad called in after security staff found a suspicious package in the departures area. The assistant chief constable of Strathclyde police, Rhuraidh Nicolson, confirmed the incident had proved to be a false alarm.He said: "While this incident has turned out to be a false alarm, there is no doubt that the initial action taken by the staff at the airport was absolutely correct. "'I'm sure that the relatively small number of people who had their travel plans disrupted will understand the necessity of carrying out such operations." The package was discovered at 7.55pm and the departures area cleared as a precaution about nine minutes later. A Glasgow airport spokesman said the package was found in the central security area where passengers are searched before they board a plane. Passengers who had already passed through the security scanners were allowed to fly on, but the discovery forced the airport to close down the security screening area. This disrupted two of the last three late evening departures – an EasyJet service to Gatwick and a British Midlands flight to Heathrow – because passengers were unable to get through the security screening area. It is thought both flights have been prevented from taking off. The only other late evening flight, the 20:55 service to Bristol, took off an hour late. A BAA spokesman said: "We apologise for the inconvenience this caused to a relatively small number of passengers, however the safety and security of staff is our highest priority." Other areas of the airport, the second busiest in Scotland, remained open during the incident and it still accepted incoming flights. The discovery of viable bombs on freight aircraft coming from Yemen late last week has heightened fears about airport security. Glasgow airport was the target of a car bombing attempt in June 2007 when two men, Kafeel Ahmed, an engineer from Bangalore, India, and Bilal Talal Samad Abdullah, a doctor from Iraq, drove a Jeep laden with propane gas cylinders into the terminal building. Their homemade device only partly went off but Ahmed later died in hospital from severe burns. Departures are due to resume at 06:05, with flights to Amsterdam, Heathrow, Gatwick, London City and Southampton.