Man arrested for running onto Heathrow runway

(Update: Authorities determine man's backpack didn't contain explosives)

A man was arrested after running onto the runway at London's busy Heathrow airport on Thursday, triggering a major security alert, police said.

"I can confirm that at approximately 2:05 p.m. (10:05 a.m. EDT) a man was seen airside at Heathrow airport on the northern runway. He's been arrested by police and he's currently in custody," a police spokesman said. He declined to say whether the incident was considered terrorism-related.

"A bag has been recovered and obviously it will be examined," he said.

BBC television pictures showed several emergency cars with flashing lights parked on the airport runway.

A spokesman for airport operator BAA, owned by Spanish company Ferrovial, said he was aware of an incident and was checking details.

"A controlled explosion on the bag has reportedly been carried out," Sky News reports. "Sky correspondent Mark White said the security scare comes ahead of the opening of a new terminal at Heathrow."

The controlled explosion revealed that the there were no explosives in the man's bags, multiple news networks reported.

White added, "Security is tight, especially with what is happening tomorrow morning with the opening of Terminal 5. Her Majesty the Queen will be in attendance to open it and it will be a big day for BAA."

"A man ran towards an Emirates flight," a police spokeswoman told AFP, as television pictures showed police vehicles scrambling to deal with the situation. "He has been removed. We believe he was acting alone."

BBC cited an eyewitness saying the man scaled the airport's perimeter fence, ran onto the runway and was eventually surrounded by police and police dogs.

There was no immediate sign that the incident was terrorism related. Britain has been under an increased security since the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings which killed 52 people on the London underground.

It is the second major security breach at the airport in the space of three weeks.

On February 25, four activists from environmental campaigners Greenpeace staged a protest on top of a parked jet against the planned construction of a new runway.

Thursday's incident came a day before Queen Elizabeth II is due to open the new Terminal Five at Heathrow, designed to increase the airport's capacity to some 100 million passengers a year.

Located to the west of London, Heathrow is one of the world's biggest airports, handling over 68 million passengers a year.

Protesters have recently stepped up a campaign against a third runway at the airport, which they say will damage the environment and add to misery for local residents.

(with wire reports)



