Amsterdam Schiphol Airport reopens after man makes bomb threat

2012-02-14 00:22:28 GMT+7 (ICT)

HAARLEMMERMEER, NETHERLANDS (BNO NEWS) -- Dutch military police on Monday arrested a man who had locked himself in a toilet at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and claimed to be carrying a bomb, officials said. No explosives were found.

The incident began at around 10:45 a.m. local time when an unidentified white man, dressed in a white jacket, fled into toilets near a rooftop viewing area and shouted he was carrying an explosive device. Authorities then decided to evacuate departure terminals 1 and 2 as a precaution.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the terminals as heavily armed military police and the army's bomb squad responded to the airport, which is Europe's 4th busiest and the world's 12th busiest by total passenger traffic. More than 49.8 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010.

Several hours later, just after 1 p.m. local time, the suspect peacefully surrendered to police and was taken into custody. The evacuation continued for several more hours until the army's bomb squad determined there were no explosives in the man's luggage.

"The facts, the identity of the suspect and his motive are still being investigated," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense said, giving no other details. Reports said the man was not carrying any identity papers and authorities were having difficulty communicating with him.

Airport spokeswoman Marianne de Bie said departure terminals 1 and 2 were resuming operations on late Monday afternoon. She said dozens of flights were delayed or canceled during the evacuation and said delays were likely to continue for the rest of the day.

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport also received extensive international news coverage in December 2009 after 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate explosives on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253. The aircraft had departed Schiphol hours earlier and was bound for Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who allegedly had ties to al-Qaeda, has since pleaded guilty to trying to blow up the aircraft and is due to be sentenced later this week. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-14

I never heard the airport was closed before he threat.