Flights chaos follows chemical incident

Hundreds evacuated from airport

Scores of air passengers travelling to and from the north-east last night faced major disruption after a suspected chemical leak at a major London airport.

A “chemical incident” at London City Airport led to about 500 people being evacuated from the facility. More than 20 people had to be treated by paramedics after the alarm was raised and the incident sparked travel chaos with all flights subsequently suspended.

Flybe flight BE 1365, which was due to leave the Granite City at 4.50pm, was delayed by 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, a British Airways flight which was scheduled to arrive in Aberdeen at 8.30pm was cancelled, as was the Flybe flight, which was due to arrive at 9.25pm.

Several incoming planes from destinations such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Belfast City and Paris were also diverted to other airports.

The alarm was raised about 4.10pm with three fire engines and specialist vehicles arriving at the airport soon afterwards. Police and the LondonAmbulance Service were also called to the scene.

Specialist medics, trained to treat people in hazardous situations, helped people who had been affected by the leak. The London Ambulance Service subsequently confirmed that 26 people had been treated for breathing difficulties at the airport, with two people taken to a nearby hospital.

British Airways advised passengers to check its website, www.ba.com, for up-to-date flight information.