Hundreds of passengers at Leeds Bradford Airport were evacuated early on Wednesday after a fire alarm triggered a full-scale emergency response. The airport was cleared at 05:50 BST, with travellers queuing at check-in and security forced to wait outside.
Most airlines delayed flights during the disruption, but a small number of departures went ahead, leaving a minimal number of passengers behind. One traveller described the scene on social media as 'absolute carnage', adding that passengers had to go through security again after the evacuation.
Passengers and staff were allowed back into the terminal after around 30 minutes, and normal operations resumed by 07:40 BST. An airport spokesperson said: 'Leeds Bradford Airport was evacuated this morning due to an unplanned fire alarm. LBA staff returned the terminal to normal operations rapidly after the incident.'
The incident comes amid ongoing staffing shortages that have caused hundreds of passengers to miss flights over the past three months due to check-in delays. The airport said queues were being managed daily, with priority security clearance given to passengers remaining in the queue one hour before departure.
The airport continues to advise passengers to arrive no earlier than three hours before their flight and to join the security queue at the time specified by their airline.
