London City Airport reopens after chemical incident

London City Airport was evacuated on Friday afternoon after reports of a chemical incident, later identified by police as possibly CS gas.

The alarm came just after 16:10 (4.10 pm), with police, ambulance and firefighters called to the airport in London’s Docklands.

About 500 people were evacuated with some treated by ambulance crews for breathing difficulties.

London Fire Brigade said in a statement “Two complete sweeps of the Airport building were carried out jointly by firefighters and police officers both wearing protective equipment. No elevated readings were found and the building was ventilated, searched and declared safe.”

Passengers were allowed back into the terminal at about 19:00 (7 pm).

A police statement later said “a subsequent search of the airport led to the discovery of what is believed to be a CS gas or spray. Whilst the cause of the incident has not yet been confirmed, officers are investigating if it was the result of an accidental discharge of this canister.

“At this early stage officers are investigating whether it may have been discarded by a passenger prior to check-in.”