BBC: Airport alert causes travel chaos ( Glasgow Scotland Airport attacked by Terrorists)

BBC ^ | Saturday, 30 June 2007, 18:54 GMT 19:54 UK | BBC Staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Airport alert causes travel chaos

The airport was evacuated following the alert

Glasgow Airport has been closed and all flights have been suspended after a blazing car hit the terminal building.

All roads around the airport have been closed following the incident, which happened at about 1515 BST.

Operators BAA Scotland warned people not to travel to the airport "until further notice".

Edinburgh Airport was also closed to vehicles, though flights are operating as normal. Security has been stepped up at Glasgow Central railway station.

BAA Scotland spokesman Donald Morrison said that 35,000 passengers had been expected through Glasgow Airport during the course of Saturday, the first full day of the school summer holidays.

Busy period

He said the airport had been closed as a result of the incident and a motorway cordon had been set up by the police.

Mr Morrison added: "Following the incident, the terminal was evacuated in line with our emergency procedures and those people still on campus are sheltering in buildings near the airport."

A number of people are believed to be stuck on aeroplanes and on the airport strip while others have been told they might not be able to leave the airport complex until at least 2100 BST.

Prestwick Airport was operating as normal said spokesman Neil Richardson

He advised that a number of flights bound for Glasgow Airport had been diverted to Prestwick.

Scotland's airports are gearing up for one of their busiest periods as the school summer holiday begin.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

More:

Your pictures: Glasgow alert

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Your pictures: Glasgow alert

Thomas Conroy took this picture of the vehicle crashing into the Glasgow Airport's Terminal One building at about 1515BST.

Richard Grey, who was at the airport to pick up relatives, took this picture after being evacuated.

Mr Grey says this picture shows police surrounding one of the men involved in the incident who had apparently been on fire.

Michael McRanor says he took this picture of one of the men being arrested at the scene.

Travellers and visitors were evacuated to a safe distance. (Pic Thomas Conroy)

Jennifer McGoff saw fire services arriving, leading to traffic chaos around the airport as roads were closed.

Thomas Conroy took this picture of a security officers coming to the scene as people fled in the opposite direction

BBC reporter Huw Williams was able to take this picture showing the building traffic chaos

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[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

More:

Eyewitness 'tackled' burning man

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Eyewitness 'tackled' burning man

Eyewitnesses submitted pictures of the scene

An eyewitness at Glasgow Airport has told how he intervened to help tackle a man who was on fire and "fighting" with police officers.

Stephen Clarkson told the BBC he saw people panicking and running after a Cherokee jeep crashed into the airport.

He saw an Asian man lying on the ground with "flames coming from his body".

"It was just lucky that I was there, I managed to knock the man to the ground with my forearm and the police got on top of him and restrained him."

Others at the airport have been describing the scene outside the terminal.

Taxi driver Ian Crosby said he did not think it was an "accident... this was a deliberate attack".

He said he saw members of the public approach the driver and another man.

Richard Grey said some travellers watched the burning car before the terminal was evacuated.

"There was an Asian guy who'd been pulled out of the car by two police officers who he was trying to fight off," he said.

He added: "The car didn't actually explode, there was a few pops and bangs which was presumably the tyres and the petrol and we were just stood watching as there didn't seem to be any order at first, people in the car park opposite just watching what was going on as the car was burning."

'Black smoke'

Margaret Hughes said the car veered off a road that was not open to normal traffic.

"As soon as I left the building there was black smoke gushing out where the car had obviously been driven into the airport," she said.

An eyewitness said the car appeared to 'ram' the door

She said one of the men being led away by police appeared very calm.

"He seemed fairly composed, you could say almost in a state of shock," she said.

Scott Leeson, who was waiting to pick up a colleague, said he witnessed the crash.

He said: "The car came speeding past at about 30mph. It was approaching the building quickly.

"Then the driver swerved the car around so he could ram straight in to the door. He must have been trying to smash straight through.

"Luckily he did not get the car too far in. He just managed to get the nose of the Jeep inside."

He said an airport official had told him the men in the car got out and started throwing petrol about.

"Luckily my colleague and his family were delayed or they could have been coming out of that door at exactly that time," he added.

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Are you at the airport? Do you know anybody there? Have you seen anything? Send us your experiences using the form below. You can also email photos to: yourpic@bbc.co.uk.

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[indcons]

B
U
M
P

My 2-step solution to stopping terrorism: defuse the bombs; deport the muslims (my new tag line)

[TornadoAlley3]

Threat level in Britain raised to critical, “officials believe another attack is imminent” per Fox news.

[johnny7]

Look at the facade of the building in pic #5... looks like a decent-sized blast area.

[kinoxi]

The EU doesn’t allow deportation to countries that allow the death penalty. They are thereby inflicting the death penalty on their own innocent people.

[L,TOWM]

Criminy! A bunch of us from my church are flying to London tomorrow on our way to Swaziland...

We were supposed to have a one day bus tour of London on Monday and then fly to South Africa on Monday night.

Wow.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I started this thread so we could get some idea of the overall impact ...and the good pictures....

Looking for a story on the Hospital evacuation also...

[Calpernia]

The whole world is going mad.

[indcons]

You might also want to check Heathrow’s (or Gatwick’s, as the case might be) airport web site just to make sure there are no travel restrictions?

[Greenpees]

But...........Whatever happened to Paris Hilton???

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

My son just went thru London last week and is returning from conference in Crete....asume he is or will be going thru England on return....

Son in law is coming home over the 4th for some R & R from Kuwait....Military uses this particular airport for US Military to and from ME...someone said...

[Bernard]

I wonder if John Edwards will be checking for bumper stickers on this car and the one in London.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Paris who?

[armymarinemom]

Son in law is coming home over the 4th for some R & R from Kuwait....Military uses this particular airport for US Military to and from ME...someone said..

My son went through the Glasgow airport this past month fo0r R&R. Both Shannon and Glasgow are used.

[johnny7]

We all see cars exploding... Edwards see’s bumper-stickers.

[kcar]

The UK needs to issue a fatwa against the Iranian mullahs.

[Bernard]

I’m looking forward to John Edwards being photoshopped on every car bomb picture in the future - just like “Looter Guy”.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Edwards has friends with the same view:

FR Thread

Olbermann and 'Expert' Laugh at UK Attacks

And at Hot Air:

Video: Olby and Larry Johnson shrug at the “non-event in London”

****************EXCERPT*****************************

Whom do you call on in a pinch for expertise about jihadist plots if you’re a guy who hasn’t taken terrorism seriously since 9/11? Why, a guy who hasn’t taken terrorism seriously since before 9/11, of course. It’s a segment six years in the making, starting with Crazy Larry’s now-legendary “stop worrying about terror” op-ed published in July 2001 and continuing through to this morning when he wowed the dKos faithful by pronouncing the car-bomb plot a “crock of crap.”