birmingham bomb alert!

Man charged after airport alert

The airport has now reopened
A man has been charged with causing a public nuisance after a security alert closed Birmingham International Airport for over two hours.
Over 1,000 travellers were affected after a suspect package was discovered just before 0900 BST on Sunday.

Passengers were kept on planes and those in the two terminals were taken to the NEC conference centre. Flights due in to the airport were diverted.

A 25-year-old man is due to appear before Solihull magistrates on Monday.

‘Safety first’

An Army team carried out a controlled explosion on the package and the airport reopened at about 1200 BST.

The package was later found to be harmless.

Police said a cordon was put up around the airport during the alert.

A force spokesman said: “The airport is now open again. We realise this has caused inconvenience for passengers but safety comes first.

“There was no specific threat to the West Midlands but we would ask if people remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to us.”

Police say the man was detained when he returned to the airport to collect his bag at about 1220 BST

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3677987.stm