Several flights to and from Frankfurt Airport were affected last night when the departures terminal was evacuated in response to what was believed to have been an accidental safety breach.
German authorities cleared Terminal 1 at Europe’s fourth largest airport late in the evening, after discovering a female traveller had entered the departure area without passing through security.
Police pulled the woman aside for questioning, while some 100 flights were cancelled and delayed so that authorities could sweep the terminal for any suspicious items.
Based on initial findings, a spokesperson for the German Federal Police said the woman may have accidentally bypassed security. The spokesperson refused to elaborate until the interrogation is complete.
Frankfurt Airport Evacuated, Operations Now Resuming – https://t.co/2BFZ6TudNL via @nomascoach pic.twitter.com/8zXYauaB6s
— Prior2Boarding (@Prior2Board) August 31, 2016
“Based on initial findings of the questioning, it looks like this may have just been an accident.”
German Federal Police spokesperson
Passengers were allowed back into the terminal at around 9.30pm local time – three hours after evacuating – and flights resumed shortly after. All passengers had to pass through security check again.
The gateway confirmed the incident in a Facebook update and said operations have started “returning back to normal”.
“We regret any inconvenience that may have been caused and thank all passengers for their patience and cooperation.”
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport’s evacuation comes less than three days after a similar scare at Los Angeles’ LAX Airport.
