East Midlands Airport Evacuation lifts after 09:30 luggage concern

East Midlands Airport evacuation began at about 09:30 BST on Tuesday after security screening equipment flagged a concern with a checked-in item of luggage. Passengers were seen standing airside while the terminal was cleared in Castle Donington, Leicestershire.

East Midlands Airport

A spokesperson said just after 11:00 that the terminal had been evacuated as a precautionary measure. The airport also said the concern came from security screening equipment, not from any reported incident inside the terminal.

"As a precautionary measure, we evacuated our terminal this morning after our security screening equipment highlighted a concern with a checked-in item of luggage."

Castle Donington terminal

Investigations then concluded that there was no risk, and the airport said normal operations were resuming with passengers re-entering the terminal. The same statement added, "the safety of our customers and staff is our number on priority".

The sequence matters for passengers already on site: they were kept outside the terminal during the check, then allowed back in once the investigation finished. Footage filmed during the evacuation showed people standing airside while the airport handled the security concern.

Normal operations resume

The airport's account leaves one clear operational result for travelers and staff at East Midlands Airport: the interruption ended the same morning, and the terminal reopened after the review found no risk. For anyone heading there on Tuesday, the airport said it was back to normal operations and passengers were re-entering the building.