"German airport evacuated after bomb scares"

Sunday, September 14, 2003
 
German airport evacuated after bomb scares


Dusseldorf - (AFP) The international airport in the western German city of
Dusseldorf was evacuated on Sunday following several bomb threats, affecting
tens of thousands of travellers, authorities said.

Air traffic in and out of Germany's third largest airport was brought to a
halt around midday (10h00 GMT) and the building was evacuated after seven
phone calls threatening attacks on both the airport and airplanes, said the
federal border police force, which is responsible for airport security.

About 180 officers were dispatched to the scene with nine sniffer dogs to
inspect the building. The search was expected to be called off by early
evening.

The closure of the airport, which serves a large swath of Germany's most
populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, created chaos on the ground with
snarled road traffic and testy travellers. The airport ordered in beverages
and other supplies for stranded passengers.

"This is truly a state of emergency," said airport spokesperson Torsten
Hiermann.

The first flights were allowed to land about four hours later, at 3.55pm
(13h55 GMT), but the aircraft were required to remain on the runway and
passengers were told to stay onboard until the all-clear was given.

Twenty-three planes were redirected to the nearby Cologne/Bonn airport
during the afternoon.

Hiermann said the threats had been received in the late morning and judged
by police to be serious enough to justify the evacuation.

The school summer recess came to an end on Sunday in North Rhine-Westphalia
and many families were returning home from holiday. The spokesperson said
some 64 000 passengers had been expected to pass through the airport on
Sunday.

London's Gatwick airport faced a major security alert late on Friday after
the discovery of a suspect vehicle under the building. Army bomb disposal
experts carried out three controlled explosions on the car, but no
explosives or suspicious substances were found inside.


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