Heathrow airport: Terminal 3 evacuated because of ‘suspicious item’
‘A small part of Terminal 3 was temporarily evacuated while the authorities conducted the appropriate checks’ – Heathrow spokesperson
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Thousands of airline passengers face possible travel disruption after a key terminal at London Heathrow airport was evacuated.
A suspicious item is believed to have been found in a passenger’s baggage in Terminal 3, with travellers told to leave part of the building. Police and emergency services are dealing with the incident.
Terminal 3 is the London home of many major airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
British Airways also has a substantial operation to and from the terminal.
It is not clear whether the item was found during the security search or in the arrivals area.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “This afternoon, our teams responded to a potentially suspicious article in Terminal 3. As a precaution, a small part of Terminal 3 was temporarily evacuated while the authorities conducted the appropriate checks. The issue has now been safely resolved. We apologise to our passengers for any inconvenience caused.”
The Heathrow Express and Elizabeth Line rail services – which use a station beneath Terminal 3 – were also disrupted.
More than 20 trains serving the station were cancelled, but with an earlier rail defect causing cancellations it is difficult to know how many were as a result of the security scare.
Heathrow Central station on the Piccadilly Line of the London Underground is adjacent to Terminal 2, some distance from Terminal 3, and is not believed to have been affected.
The circumstances appear similar to the closure of South Terminal at Gatwick in November 2024 following a suspicious item being identified in a passenger’s bag during the security search.
On that occasion the traveller was later allowed to continue their journey, along with the item. But by then tens of thousands of passengers faced disruption with the terminal closed, along with Gatwick’s rail station.
During the afternoon Heathrow Terminal 3 is normally busy with many departures to the Gulf, Asia and North America, as well as Europe.
Under air passengers’ rights rules, if a flight is cancelled for any reason – including a bomb scare – the airline is obliged to get the traveller to their destination as soon as possible. Until that is achieved, the airlne must provide meals and accommodation as appropriate.
