Operations at Birmingham Airport were temporarily suspended this afternoon (April 16) due to an incident but it has since reopened.

Following the incident, a Birmingham Airport spokesperson told Newsquest: “Birmingham Airport has temporarily suspended operations due to a security incident on an aircraft.

“The aircraft landed safely and all passengers and crew have disembarked.

“All customers due to travel should make their way to the airport and check in as normal.”

Sky News said the airport had suspended flights due to a "security incident on an aircraft".

It said, according to the Birmingham Airport website, flights scheduled for this evening (April 16) have been cancelled or delayed but it wasn't sure if the schedule changes related to the incident.

However, the airport insists that customers should arrive as normal for flights this evening. 

Birmingham Airport has updated customers, confirming that it reopened at 6pm.

Recommended reading:

At 5.25pm, LBC News took to X, formerly Twitter, to say: "All flights at Birmingham Airport have been suspended following a security alert onboard a plane."

Sky News added that emergency vehicles were seen as footage of the airport was released.

In a post published to X, GB News shared a video at 5.52pm of its report of the incident.

It shared that the flight is believed to be an Aer Lingus flight that was travelling to Belfast from Birmingham but was diverted back to the West Midlands airport due to a "suspicious item" being found.

Birmingham Airport reopens 'following security incident'

The airport has confirmed it is now open again and advises customers to check for delays.

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson told Newsquest: “Birmingham Airport reopened at 1800 hours following a security incident on an aircraft.

“All passengers and crew disembarked safely.

“Customers are advised to check with their airline, or on the Birmingham Airport website,  before checking in due to potential delays.”