Air passengers at London’s Heathrow Airport were evacuated from Terminal 2 this morning as police dealt with a “suspicious” item.

One report suggested panic among travellers but the package was later found to be harmless on closer inspection and the terminal was reopened just after midday.

Police were alerted at around 10.45am over reports of an “unattended bag at Terminal 2”, prompting authorities to ask all customers to leave the terminal.

Thousands of passengers spilled onto the pavements outside the airport’s main building and into the short-stay car parks.

Transport for London (TfL) confirmed the London Underground station serving the terminal had also been closed in a tweet, which read: “Heathrow 123: Closed – This station is closed while we help the police respond to a security alert.”

London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement the force was called at 10.47am to reports of an unattended bag at Terminal 2 of Heathrow Airport.

It added: “The area has been evacuated as a precaution. The item will be assessed by specialist officers.”

A Heathrow spokesman had said: “Our teams are working with the police in response to a potentially suspicious item identified at Terminal 2.

“As a precaution, passengers have been temporarily moved away from the area. We apologise to any passengers inconvenienced while the matter is investigated.”

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