Armed police were called to Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4 on Tuesday evening following the discovery of an unattended bag at an El Al Israel Airlines check-in desk. The incident prompted a security cordon and temporary suspension of check-in services in a small section of the terminal.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed they were investigating the unattended bag, which led to a partial evacuation and delays to flights from the terminal. All flights were temporarily held until further notice as a precautionary measure.
A Heathrow Airport spokesman later stated that the bag had been identified and the matter resolved. He said: “Our teams responded earlier tonight to an unattended bag at Terminal 4. As a precaution, a very small section of check-in was temporarily suspended. The rest of the terminal remained open and fully operational throughout. We apologise to any passengers inconvenienced as a result.”
Terminal 4, the second largest at Heathrow with an area of 105,481 square metres, handled 9.5 million passengers on 48,137 flights last year, according to the airport's website.
