London, Sept 13: A suspicious vehicle has been discovered on a highway near Gatwick Airport, causing police to declare a security alert, evacuate part of one terminal and halt road and rail traffic in the area, officials said. Army bomb disposal experts rushed to the scene and carried out three controlled explosions on the abandoned car which was discovered late last night, police said. They then planned to examine it.
During their operation, the airport's runways remained open, and people were still being allowed to enter and exit Gatwick's two terminals, a spokeswoman at the airport said. The abandoned vehicle was found by a member of the public at 8:50 pm (1950 GMT), parked in a breakdown lane of the A23 highway near the south terminal, police said. A small section of that terminal was temporarily evacuated, and the highway and regional train lines closed, but the north terminal remained open, police said.
``The airport is still operating, although we have shut off perimeter roads and the A23 highway,'' said a spokesman for the Sussex Police. The Gatwick spokeswoman said, ``Passengers are still able to check in and arrive as normal, but we advise they leave extra time. There are only a small number of flights left this evening and arrivals are coming in as normal.''
Cancellations and delays were not expected, she said on condition of anonymity.
British Airways, the country's main carrier, said it was unaffected because it operates from the north terminal and its last flight Friday had left the airport before the security alert was called. Bureau Report