Woman with two small kids who sparked Frankfurt Airport lockdown ‘fled security by mistake after traces of explosives found in her rucksack’
Woman travelling with two kids quizzed by cops after alert caused evacuation and severe flight delays at Germany's biggest airport
A WOMAN with two kids sparked a terror alert and shut down part of Germany's busiest airport after security officers reportedly found traces of explosives in her luggage - and she left thinking the check was over.
Frankfurt's Terminal 1 was placed in lockdown and 7,000 passengers ordered to clear the building as the woman was said to have fled the security checkpoint and vanished in the crowds in the air-side departures hall.
Police cleared the terminal building while they hunted the suspect and checked for explosives
Cops later said it may have been a misunderstanding - and the woman thought the screening was finished as the pressed on towards her gate.
The 10am alert sparked a full evacuation - and long flight delays - as officers scoured the terminal.
Police later said no explosive devices or material were found.
The woman was travelling with two children from Istanbul to New York, with a change at Frankfurt.
Reports in Germany said a routine swab at the security check had found traces of explosives in her rucksack.
But after she was questioned by federal police they said they did not believe she meant to evade the screening.
A spokeswoman said: "Based on initial findings of the questioning, it looks like this may have just been an accident."
Police were seen blocking entrances and thousands of passengers who had already checked in and passed security were ordered to leave the terminal.
Hundreds of people arriving from across the world had to sit and wait on their planes while the hunt for the suspect continued.
The evacuation was expected to cause knock-on delays across Europe and further afield as Frankfurt is a major international transport hub and many passengers use it for connecting flights.
At least 100 flights have been cancelled and planes due to land were being diverted with no arrivals before 4pm local time.
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As the terminal reopened after more than two hours, police said no suspicious items were found in a search of the departures hall once all the people had been cleared out.
Airport operator Fraport said: "Today at Frankfurt Airport a passenger entered the security area before the security check had been completed.
"Therefore the German federal police cleared departure hall A as a preventative measure. Passengers will be rechecked prior to departure."
One passenger tweeted: "What a mess evacuation of #frankfurt #airport. No information.Thousands passengers don't know where to go. Nobody knows anything."
The airport was returning to normal operations by lunchtime but the chaos was expected to last hours as thousands of passengers forced to wait outside faced going through security again.
Fraport said the breach would lead to flight delays at Europe's fourth largest airport.
The massive hub, airline Lufthansa's main base, is used by more than 60million passengers a year.
It serves more than 260 destinations in 113 countries - more than any other airport in the world.
In a similar incident, a Spanish man was arrested at Cologne-Bonn airport in May after breaching security, leading to flight delays.
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