LONDON: A major international airport serving the UK’s second-largest city was evacuated and all flights were suspended for several hours on Wednesday because of a security alert.
West Midlands Police in central England ordered the partial closure of Birmingham Airport after receiving reports of a suspicious vehicle.
Airport authorities advised passengers not to travel while those already awaiting flights were forced to leave terminals on foot with their luggage.
“Whilst we apologize for any inconvenience and disruption, the safety and security of everyone at the airport was our number one priority,” a statement read.
West Midlands Police said the evacuation was a “precautionary measure” while the vehicle was searched and assessed.
“Following a search by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EDO) team the vehicle was deemed to be safe. The vehicle is no longer being treated as suspicious,” it added.
Birmingham Airport is the seventh busiest UK airport by passenger numbers and is used as an operating base for easyJet, Ryanair, TUI Airways and Jet2.com.
Its busiest routes are to and from Dublin, Dubai, Amsterdam, Palma de Mallorca and Tenerife-South.
“Operations will slowly be returning to normal,” an airport spokesperson said. “All passengers are advised to check latest flight information from their airline.”
Bomb scare forces evacuation of major UK airport
https://arab.news/mdgsy
Bomb scare forces evacuation of major UK airport
- Birmingham Airport is the UK’s seventh busiest hub with 11.5 million passengers last year
EU should consider forming combined military force: defense chief
- Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” that could eventually replace US forces
- Trump has heightened fears among NATO allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland
BRUSSELS: EU countries should weigh whether to set up a combined military force that could eventually replace US troops in Europe, the bloc’s defense chief said Sunday.
EU defense commissioner Andrius Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” as a possible option to better protect the continent.
“How will we replace the 100,000-strong American standing military force, which is the back-bone military force in Europe?” he asked in a speech in Sweden.
The suggestion comes as US President Donald Trump has heightened fears among NATO allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland.
Worries over Trump’s commitment to Europe have already spurred countries to step up efforts to bolster their militaries in the face of the threat posed by Russia.
Ideas about establishing a central European army have floated around for years but have largely failed to gain traction as nations are wary of relinquishing control over their militaries.
The US has pushed its European allies to increasingly take over responsibility for their own security, and raised the prospect it could shift forces from Europe to focus on China.
“In such times, we should not run away from the most pressing questions on our institutional defense readiness,” said Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister.
In his speech Kubilius also advocated for the creation of a “European Security Council” of key powers — including potentially Britain — that could help the continent take decisions over its own defense quicker.
“The European Security Council could be composed of key permanent members, along with several rotational members,” he said.
“In total around 10-12 members, with the task to discuss the most important issues in defense.”
He said the first focus of such a body should be trying to change the dynamics in the war in Ukraine to ensure that Kyiv does not end up losing.
“We need to have a clear answer — how is the EU going to change that scenario?,” he said.
“This is the reason why we need to have a European Security Council now!“
