London's Luton airport reopens after alert

London: Hundreds of passengers were evacuated and flights were suspended for hours on Monday from Luton Airport near London after a suspicious package was found in a security-screening area.

Passengers were stranded outside the terminal as emergency services examined the suspicious item. The approach road to the airport was closed, triggering long delays for motorists.

An army bomb-disposal squad blew up the item in a controlled explosion and police said it was not dangerous. The airport reopened around 6 pm.

Budget airline EasyJet said six flights landing at Luton had been diverted to other airports and 12 flights had been canceled as a result of the security scare.

Luton, northwest of London, caters mostly to short-haul flights by budget airlines.