Approximately at 14:45 yesterday, London Stansted got evacuated after a mysterious, unattended bag was found. Fearing a potential bomb threat, thousands of passengers were asked to vacate the premises and escorted outside by airport security.

According to those present, the whole situation was rather confusing as little to no information was given as to why they had to desert the airport. Stansted tweeted the following during the incident: “We apologise for the current inconvenience and will update as soon as we have more information”.

Ultimately Essex Police ruled the bag to be harmless and passengers were allowed to re-enter the airport and flights continued to operate as usual, albeit with a delay.

If a flight is delayed by more than 3 hours, passengers might be entitled to EU compensation. However, occasions such as this one are considered to be extraordinary circumstances and passengers are not entitled to compensation, since these are beyond the airline’s control.

Stansted bomb threat