Police in London have arrested a man on suspicion of releasing a chemical substance at one of the city’s airports, following an incident which led to the evacuation of the terminal Friday.
The Metropolitan Police said that a 25-year-old man had been arrested Saturday following the episode at London City Airport, which left 27 people complaining of breathing difficulties and feeling unwell.
The man was arrested on suspicion of using a noxious substance to cause serious damage, an offense under anti-terror laws.
He was not charged, but released on bail until a date in late November. Police said that the case is being investigated by aviation investigators, rather than counter-terrorism police at this point.
The airport was evacuated Friday after a number of passengers reported feeling unwell, police said.
Firefighters were alerted to the incident at about 4 p.m. (11 a.m. ET), officials said. The airport was reopened more than three hours later after the building was declared safe.
Authorities said Friday that they believed the incident might have been caused by a CS gas spray — a type of tear gas.
Alistair Snowie, who spoke to CNN on the phone from a medical tent where he was being treated, told CNN Friday he was waiting in line to check in for his flight home to Stirling, Scotland, when everyone started coughing.
“It all happened very quickly,” he said. “The alarm didn’t go off at first, but we all just ran. Nobody knew what was going on.”
London City Airport, in east London, focuses on business travelers heading to destinations in the UK, Europe and the United States.
