Security lapse sparks evacuation at Frankfurt airport

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German airline Lufthansa, whose main hub is in Frankfurt, said on Twitter that boarding had been stopped at the A and Z levels of the airport's Terminal 1. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/FRANKFURT AIRPORT

FRANKFURT (REUTERS) - Parts of Frankfurt airport were evacuated for several hours on Tuesday (Aug 7) following a lapse in security, federal police said, disrupting travel during the busy summer holiday season.

"The cause of the evacuation of the terminal was an error by a security officer. Despite a positive test for explosives, a French family of four were allowed to leave the security zone," police said on Twitter.

The family were later located in the terminal, re-checked and allowed to continue on their journey.

The police gave no details on what had triggered the positive explosives test.

The alarm caused the evacuation and closure of the A and Z gates of Terminal 1 at Frankfurt airport, a major hub for international travel and home to airline Lufthansa.

At 1230 GMT (8.30pm Singapore time), the police said on Twitter that affected areas had been re-opened, allowing passengers as well as airport and airline employees to return.

Some 1,500 flights had been scheduled for taking off and landing at Frankfurt airport on Tuesday, according to airport operator Fraport.

It was not immediately clear how many flights were cancelled or delayed as a result of the evacuation.

Lufthansa said it was working on a new flight plan and would provide more information later on Tuesday.

The police action came a week and a half after a security scare involving a person who passed through an unmanned checkpoint at Munich airport, Germany's second-biggest after Frankfurt.

That triggered an alarm which caused the cancellation of 300 flights and affected more than 30,000 passengers.

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