Scotland's Edinburgh airport reopens after bomb scare

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND (BNO NEWS) -- Passengers at Edinburgh airport in the Scottish capital were evacuated on Tuesday after a suspicious bag prompted a bomb scare, causing a number of flights to be canceled and diverted, officials said. The bag was later declared safe.

The incident occurred at approximately 1:50 p.m. local time on Tuesday when concerns were raised about the contents of a bag that went through a security X-ray machine at Edinburgh Airport, the busiest airport in the country. The terminal was then evacuated and an area of approximately 100 meters (109 yards) around the building was cordoned off.

"As part of a routine bag search at the airport, suspicions were raised about the contents of one item of hand luggage and the decision was taken to evacuate the airport while the appropriate inquiries could be carried out," said Chief Inspector David Campbell of Police Scotland's Border Policing Command.

The passenger who the bag belonged to was questioned by officers while a bomb disposal team was called in and used a robot to examine the items. "We are not satisfied there isn't, nor was there ever, any risk to the public and the airport will now begin to reopen," Campbell said, thanking the public for their patience.

Outbound flights were canceled during the bomb scare and a number of inbound flights were diverted to Glasgow Airport, which was the scene of a terrorist attack in June 2007 when a suicide bomber drove a jeep loaded with propane canisters into the glass doors of the terminal building. There were no other fatalities, but five people were injured.

Edinburgh Airport is the busiest airport in Scotland and handled more than 9.7 million passengers in the 12 months prior to November 2013.

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