By Anna Gault
The capital’s airport was thrust into chaos following security breach.
POLICE have confirmed that a hole was discovered in the perimeter fence at Edinburgh Airport, sparking last night’s massive security alert.
Hundreds of passengers were delayed for up to two hours and several aircraft stranded following the scare.
Police and airport security staff worked through the night to check the rest of the fence and to examine the airport grounds and runway for potential threats to aircraft.
The hole in the fence was discovered by airport staff on a regular security patrol.
A spokeswoman for Lothian and Borders Police said:
“[We] were called to Edinburgh airport at around 10pm to a security breach caused by a hole in the perimeter fence.
“We are not able to confirm where the breach occurred. “
Police declined to comment on whether the incident appeared to be terrorist related.
Gordon Robertson, communications manager for Edinburgh Airport, said: “There are regular security patrols of the perimeter fence.
“A full sweep of the fence was conducted after the hole was found. We worked through the night.”
He added:
“It has proven that our security measures are robust. “
When asked how the hole appeared to have been made, its size, or how long it may have been there for, Mr Robertson declined to comment.
Mr Robertson said the passengers affected by the scare were sent back through security.
He said:
“It took about two hours to reprocess the passengers.
“There were some delays to flights but no flights were cancelled. “
He added that some passengers who arrived that night chose to leave the airport without their luggage to avoid waiting any further.
Stranded passengers took to Twitter to try and find out what was happening. Some said they had been told by their pilots that a hole in a fence was the cause of the breach.
The security breach comes after a mobile phone was thrown from a plane onto a runway at Edinburgh Airport last week.
Passengers on a British Airways flight was delayed for three hours as two BA pilots were question by police.
The flight was carrying 149 people to London Gatwick.
In 2007, Glasgow Airport was attacked by terrorists who drove a Jeep loaded with propane canisters into the terminal building.
