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LONDON (AP) — A security alert at London’s Gatwick Airport delayed dozens of flights and left arriving passengers scrambling for alternative ways to get home after authorities evacuated one terminal and shut the airport train station for more than four hours on Friday.
Authorities evacuated the airport’s south terminal after police were called to investigate a “suspected prohibited item” found in luggage at about 8:20 a.m. Sussex Police said a bomb disposal team made the package safe and two people detained during the investigation were allowed to continue their journeys.
The terminal reopened to passengers and staff at about 3 p.m. (1500 GMT), the airport said in a statement. The airport’s north terminal remained open throughout the day.
About 100,000 passengers were scheduled to fly into and out of Gatwick, Britain’s second-busiest airport, on Friday. But many faced long delays.
Nejadeen Braham, 35, was supposed to fly to Jamaica to pick up her children, but said she couldn’t get into the south terminal.
“I saw everybody coming (out) from one direction,” she said. “I was supposed to go inside, drop my bags and go through security. When I got here, I saw everybody coming down.’’
The security alert at Gatwick was one of two that rattled London on Friday.
A road near the U.S. Embassy was shut down Friday morning as police investigated a suspicious package found in the area. London’s Metropolitan Police Service said it carried out a controlled explosion of what was later determined to be a “hoax device.”
The embassy said it resumed “normal business operations” at about 1 pm. (1300 GMT), although all public appointments were canceled for the day.
At Gatwick, travelers faced long lists of delayed and canceled flights on airport information boards. Outside, long lines of arriving passengers waited for taxis, while others resorted to walking or hitchhiking when they discovered the heavily used airport train station was also closed by the security alert.
The airport advised passengers to contact their airline for update information.
Several carriers, including BA and Norwegian reported delays.
Spanish airline Vueling ordered inbound flights from Barcelona and Seville to turn around and return to their point of departure.