'National incident' declared at Glasgow Airport as 'cops searching for someone'
A 'national incident' has been declared at multiple UK airports with security gates closed as 'police search for someone'.
People waiting for flights at Manchester Airport and Glasgow Airport have faced long queues with police checking everyone’s ID after they have gone through the security hall on Wednesday afternoon.
Manchester Evening News reports that Counter Terror officers are looking for a man who has broken out of prison, with airports and ports across the UK said to be taking part in the operation. The hunt at Manchester Airport has been linked to Daniel Abed Khalife, 22, who escaped from jail while on remand at HMP Wandsworth on suspicion of terror and Official Secrets Act offences.
In a statement shared with the Mirror this afternoon, the Metropolitan Police said: "An alert was issued by the Counter Terrorism Command earlier today in relation to Khalife through established operational briefing channels to relevant UK police and law enforcements agencies, including those at UK ports and borders."
You can follow our live coverage of the terror suspect's escape HERE.
Mysterious ball of light seen hovering over UK city 'too complex to be manmade'
Large queues at Glasgow Airport have been reported after the security gates were closedA tannoy announcement at Glasgow stated the delays had been caused by a 'national incident' and that 'additional security checks' were taking place.
Glasgow Airport told the Mirror that "temporary security measures" had been put in place by UK Border Force.Similar scenes have also been witnessed at Manchester Airport today, where guards are said to be carrying out increased checks on IDs.
Traveller John Robertson, who is heading to London from Glasgow, told the Daily Record: "When I got to security about 12.45pm it seemed a lot busier than usual. I then noticed the x-ray belts were all at a standstill.
A tannoy announcement said delays had been caused by a 'national incident' and that 'additional security checks' were taking place"That’s when I heard from a staff member that the police were looking for someone and that the security had been closed temporarily. After about an hour it started moving and I got through the x-ray. That’s when I saw the other queue."
One social media user claimed they had missed their flight to Southampton as a result of the disruption, while another complained of being stuck in the airport on a hot day without air conditioning. A different airport passenger described the scenes inside the airport as "chaos".
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, one passenger said: "Every single airport across the country and every terminal are doing 100 per cent checks on passengers.
"Security area got absolutely rammed. Every passport, every boarding card was being checked. Within five minutes the queues were absolutely massive."
Photographs from the scene show passengers standing in long queues outside security amid the ongoing delays, while the departures gate was said to be 'empty' early on Wednesday afternoon as so few people had gone through security.
The Mirror have approached the Home Office for comment. A post shared by Manchester Airport on Twitter said: "Our security teams work hard to ensure the safety and security of all at Manchester Airport and carry out important checks set by the UK Government."
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