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A man has been arrested after an incident at Heathrow Airport that led to an evacuation of Terminal 4 on Monday evening.
Emergency services were scrambled on Monday before 5pm after reports of a “potential hazardous materials incident” at Europe’s busiest airport, which closed Terminal Four for three hours.
Metropolitan Police specialist officers attended the scene alongside the London Fire Brigade and London Ambulance Service.
A 57-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and causing a public nuisance on Tuesday after specialist officers found a canister of what is believed to be CS spray.
The spray is used by UK police forces as a temporary incapacitant spray to subdue people who may pose a risk to themselves or others, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
It may be dispersed in a smoke cloud or dissolved into liquid (the solvent methyl iso-butyl ketone) to be used as a spray. It is also used by the military in training operations and for testing gas masks.
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The force said it thought that the substance in the canister is what caused irritation to passengers.
Airport staff gave delayed travellers silver blankets during their three hour delay(X/@AlexOakes)
The suspect remains in police custody, the force said, adding that the incident is not being treated as terrorism related and an investigation remains on-going.
Dozens of flights were delayed and thousands of travellers were affected by the incident at Terminal 4 of Europe’s busiest airport on Monday evening, as the airport advised passengers not to travel to Terminal 4, while National Rail said trains were unable to call at the terminal because of the incident. Transport links to the airport were already affected by London Underground strikes.
The LFB said it was first called about the incident at 5.01pm and that crews from Feltham, Heathrow, Wembley and surrounding fire stations had attended.
As specialist emergency teams in hazmat suits entered the terminal, the crowds outside grew, and staff handed out foil blankets to passengers as temperatures began to fall.
Witnesses said they were confused as “no one really knew what was going on”. At 8pm, Heathrow said it was standing down the incident and allowing passengers back into the terminal. But by then, flight schedules were in disarray.
The incident comes months after Heathrow airport closed following an “unprecedented” electrical substation fire that halted 1,300 flights.
London Heathrow is the UK’s busiest airport, and just last month it recorded its busiest day ever. The airport saw more than a quarter of a million passengers pass through its four terminals – a total of 270,869 passengers – on 1 August.