London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4 Reopens Following Hazardous Materials Incident
London Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest, has reopened its Terminal 4 after it was evacuated on Monday due to what authorities described as a “potential hazardous materials incident.”
Evacuation and Immediate Response
The terminal, which handles European and long-haul flights, was temporarily closed on Monday afternoon while specialist teams from the London Fire Brigade conducted an on-site assessment. Meanwhile, paramedics treated 21 people, with one individual requiring transport to a hospital, according to a statement from the UK capital’s ambulance service on social media. The nature of the incident has not been disclosed.
A fire brigade spokesperson later confirmed that the response to the event had concluded.
Police Review and Absence of Harmful Substances
Specialist officers from the London Metropolitan Police also attended the airport and carried out a thorough search. In an email statement, the force reported that no trace of any “hazardous substance” was found.
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Meanwhile, videos began circulating on social media showing dozens of passengers waiting outside the terminal building.
Operational Impact and Airport Apology
Despite the evacuation, the departures section of Heathrow’s official website indicated that flights continued to take off. Via the platform X, the airport apologised to customers for the disruption and assured them it was “doing everything possible” to ensure flights departed as scheduled.
Recent Precedents
This latest episode follows another high-impact event in March, when the entire airport was shut down for nearly a day due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation. That situation led to the mass cancellation of flights and left thousands of passengers stranded around the world.
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