UPDATE 1 -- Manchester Airport terminal reopens after alert over suspicious device

UPDATE 1 -- Manchester Airport terminal reopens after alert over suspicious device

2011-09-21 19:52:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

MANCHESTER (BNO NEWS) -- Police evacuated the main terminal at Manchester Airport in England on Wednesday morning after the discovery of a suspicious device. The area reopened about two hours later.

Police said Terminal 1 at the fourth busiest airport in the United Kingdom was evacuated at around 10.20 a.m. local time after police were made aware of a suspicious device inside a bag which was found at the main security search area.

"We were alerted to something that appeared to be a suspicious device and as a precaution we evacuated Terminal 1," said Superintendent Phil Davies, police commander at the Airport. "This is not a decision that is taken lightly but the safety of passengers and staff is our primary concern."

Police said bomb disposal experts which examined the device confirmed it to be safe about two hours later, although a police spokesperson could not immediately say what the device in question turned out to be. "[We] should be able to provide some clarity a bit later," the spokesperson said.

During the investigation, police interviewed a man - believed to be the owner of the bag - under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows police to stop people at ports and airports for up to nine hours without the need for reasonable suspicion that they are involved in any crime. Police said this is similar to a stop and search and stressed the man had not been arrested under the Terrorism Act.

In a statement, Manchester Airport said at least eleven flights which were scheduled to depart from Terminal 1 on Wednesday morning were affected by the evacuation. "We will be looking to return the operation to normal over the next few hours," an airport spokesman said.

In September 2010, police also evacuated terminal 1 at Manchester Airport due to the discovery of a suspicious bag. Around 1,200 passengers and 20 flights were affected by the disruption, which lasted about three hours before the bag was declared safe.

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