Heathrow Terminal 4 evacuated due to suspicious package

Armed police were dispatched to investigate reports

Departures area of Terminal 4 at Heathrow Airport (Photo by Steve Parsons/PA Images via Getty Images)

Heathrow’s Terminal 4 was briefly evacuated on Wednesday, delaying dozens of flights.

Armed police were dispatched to the airport in west London following reports of a suspicious package.

Dozens of people were evacuated in the operation, which lasted around 20 minutes.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told The National: "Police attended Heathrow airport following concerns about a suspicious package. The incident was stood down quickly."

A spokeswoman for Heathrow said told the newspaper the airport is operating normally.

"Police responded to a suspicious package earlier today. The situation has been resolved," she added.

Late last month a technical glitch brought chaos to UK airports, including Heathrow, in a “one in 15 million” occurrence.

More than 1,500 flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers were stranded as a result.

Britain's civil aviation regulator is currently conducting an independent review into the incident.

Further details of the review will be published by the end of September and the inquiry is expected to take around three months.