London airport emergency: Heathrow terminal 4 to reopen after evacuation over 'incident'; 20 assessed by paramedics

Heathrow Airport ’s Terminal 4 was evacuated and closed on Monday evening following reports of a possible hazardous materials incident, before authorities later declared it safe to reopen.

The London Fire Brigade said it had been called to the scene and deployed specialist crews as a precaution. “Specialist crews have been deployed to carry out an assessment of the scene, and part of the airport has been evacuated as a precaution whilst firefighters respond,” the brigade said, as quoted by AFP.

Operations were stood down roughly three hours later. “Around 20 people have been assessed on scene by paramedics from the London Ambulance Service,” the fire brigade added.

London’s Metropolitan Police also confirmed that “no trace of any adverse substance was found.”

The airport operator reassured passengers that normal services would resume. “Emergency services have confirmed Terminal 4 is safe to reopen and we are doing everything we can to ensure all flights to depart as planned today,” it said on social media.

“We are very sorry for the disruption caused, the safety and security of our passengers and colleagues is our number one priority,” the airport added.

During the closure, Heathrow urged passengers not to travel to Terminal 4, while confirming that all other terminals were operating normally. The UK ’s National Rail network also reported that its trains were “unable to call” at the terminal during the incident.

Located southwest of London, Heathrow is the UK’s main international airport and one of the busiest air hubs in the world.