LONDON: UK police were probing on Sunday an assault involving pepper spray at a Heathrow Airport car park that disrupted travel and left 21 people, including a three-year-old girl, needing medical treatment. In a depature from an earlier account of the incident at Terminal 3&#39;s multi-storey car park, London&#39;s Metropolitan Police said it now appeared to have stemmed from a suitcase robbery by people known to each other. Commander Peter Stevens, who had previously characterised it as an argument that escalated into a fight, said investigators had pieced together the chaotic chain of events after reviewing CCTV and interviewing witnesses. &quot;At this stage, it&#39;s understood that a woman was robbed of her suitcase by a group of four men, who sprayed a substance believed to be pepper spray in her direction,&quot; he added. &quot;This occurred within a car park lift, with those in the lift and surrounding area affected by the spray. &quot;Our officers are working to determine the full circumstances around what happened but we do believe this to be an isolated incident with those directly involved known to each other.&quot; Armed officers arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of assault after responding to the scene shortly after 8am (0800 GMT). &quot;He remains in custody and enquiries remain ongoing to locate further suspects,&quot; police said in an update. Emergency responders treated 21 patients, with five taken to hospital, the London Ambulance Service said. The three-year-old received treatment at the scene, with all the injuries &quot;not believed to be life-changing or life-threatening&quot;, according to police. Firefighters provided &quot;specialist assistance&quot; at the scene, London&#39;s Fire Brigade said. Terminal 3 at Europe&#39;s busiest airport remained open throughout, but the incident prompted severe traffic and public transport disruption in the area, according to officials and reports. Passengers complained about having missed flights due to its impact. &quot;We were literally stuck for an hour-and-a-half,&quot; Jayesh Patel, whose family were headed to the airport for a flight to India, told AFP. &quot;We ran to the gate, and we missed the check-in by three minutes, and we were turned away. &quot;So we&#39;re gonna have to drive 100 miles back home.&quot;

Screengrab of London's Heathrow airport as London police say they have arrested a man for suspected assault with a "form of pepper spray" at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 3. (AFP)

United Kingdom

A pepper spray assault linked to a suitcase robbery at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3 injured 21 people, including a child, disrupted travel, and resulted in one arrest, while police continue searching for additional suspects.

Police probe pepper spray assault at Heathrow Airport car park

Reuters

ISLAMABAD: A cyberattack targeting a service provider for check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several major European airports including London&#39;s Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin, causing flight delays and cancellations, the operators said. The attack has rendered automated systems inoperable, allowing only manual check-in and boarding procedures, according to Brussels Airport. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;This has a large impact on the flight schedule and will unfortunately cause delays and cancellations of flights,&quot; the operator said in a statement published on its website.&nbsp;&quot;The service provider is actively working on the issue and trying to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.&quot; Heathrow also warned of delays caused by &quot;a technical issue&quot; at a third-party supplier. Passengers with a flight scheduled for Saturday were advised by the affected airports to confirm their travel with airlines before heading to the airport.&nbsp;&quot;Due to a technical issue at a system provider operating across Europe, there are longer waiting times at check-in. We are working on a quick solution,&quot; Berlin airport said in a banner on its website. Frankfurt Airport is not affected by the attack, a spokesperson said.

People walk at Terminal 2 of the Heathrow International Airport, near London, Britain. (REUTERS)

Europe

Passengers with a flight scheduled for Saturday were advised by the affected airports to confirm their travel with airlines before heading to the airport. 

Articles tagged with "Heathrow airport"

Police probe pepper spray assault at Heathrow Airport car park

Cyberattack causes disruption at European airports including Heathrow, Brussels