Flights have been delayed after a bomb scare forced hundreds of passengers to evacuate Birmingham Airport on Wednesday afternoon.

Holidaymakers were ordered to leave the airport, which is the seventh largest in the UK, as West Midlands Police bomb disposal experts rushed to inspect a suspicious vehicle parked near the building.

Flights to Paris, Madrid and Tenerife were among those delayed as passengers were advised to contact their airlines for more information.

“Following a search by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team the vehicle was deemed to be safe. The vehicle is no longer being treated as suspicious,” police said on X.

“The safety of all was our primary concern and as a precautionary measure the airport was partially evacuated so the vehicle could be searched and assessed.”

Earlier this year, many passengers were delayed at Birmingham airport due to long waits for security queues, with some passengers missing flights.

The airport boss hit back at criticism of the delays, saying a last-minute decision by government had created “a very difficult situation for us”.

Chief executive Nick Barton said most passengers were getting through security in under half-an-hour, with additional procedures in place to cope with peaks.

The West Midlands hub was the only major UK airport to comply with the 1 June 2024 deadline for installing “Next Generation” security scanners.

They are designed to allow security staff to get a much clearer picture of any potentially threatening items in passengers’ cabin baggage - and permit travellers to carry much larger quantities of liquids, aerosols and gels (“LAGs”) through the checkpoint than the 100ml container limit.

Birmingham airport invested £60m in the new equipment ahead of the summer peak. The intention was to accelerate the security process.

But following ministers’ decision to revert to the previous 100ml limit, many more bags than expected are being rejected - and removed for a hand search.

“Unfortunately, unforeseen events have got in the way of a good strategy and created a very difficult situation for us here at Birmingham.

“We are still struggling with the consequences of these changes, but we’re working on our plan to improve things,” Mr Barton told The Independent.

The timing of today’s incident was not as bad as it could have been: a Wednesday afternoon in late October is not a peak time, though some half-term holidaymakers will be affected.

Birmingham Airport is set to reopen following a mass evacuation after reports of a suspicious vehicle outside the building.

A spokesperson said: “Following a police investigation, operations are now returning to normal. If travelling today, customers are advised to check their latest flight information and arrive at the airport in line with their check-in opening times.

“Whilst we apologise for any inconvenience and disruption, the safety and security of everyone at the airport was our number one priority as we worked through this incident with police partners.”