By KUNA
London : British detectives were Friday questioning a man who sparked a major security alert when he sprinted onto the runway at the UK’s biggest airport, police said.
The intruder is thought to have scaled a perimeter fence next to the northern runway of Heathrow Airport, in west London, yesterday afternoon.
The breach was the second serious security incident at the airport within 18 days.
It caused flight delays and some cancellations.
Heathrow workforce sources said the man ran towards a plane but dumped a bag he was carrying and was quickly tackled by armed police.
A number of police vehicles and a fire engine sped on to the runway after the intruder was spotted.
Officers seized him, holding him face down on the grass at gunpoint before leading him away.
A controlled explosion was carried out on the bag but no explosives were found, the police added.
At one stage it was thought that the man might have been protesting ahead of today’s official opening of Terminal 5. But it was later believed that the intruder was not a demonstrator.
Scotland Yard said anti-terrorist officers were aware of the incident but it was being dealt with by local police at the airport.
The northern runway was partially closed but later reopened.
British Airways was among airlines that suffered flight delays and cancellations.
The airport is understood to have been testing security yesterday ahead of the unveiling today of the state-of-the-art Terminal 5, a major landmark in the airport’s expansion.
Protesters from the environmental group “Greenpeace” walked on to the runway late last month and climbed on to a Boeing 777, unfurling a banner in protest against the airport’s expansion.