Thousands disrupted after controlled explosion at Luton Airport

As a result of the earlier evacuation, easyJet has taken the decision to cancel the remainder of today's flights to and from Luton Airport.

In total easyJet has now cancelled 41 flights - 18 from earlier today and the remainder from this evening's programme.

Six easyJet flights scheduled to land at London Luton Airport were diverted - four to Stansted Airport, one to Birmingham Airport and one to London Southend Airport and all passengers were coached to Luton."Passengers who are affected by the cancellations can change their flight or obtain a refund at easyJet.com.

We have also set up a customer service desk at our office where we will help passengers make any arrangements. We will do all possible to support them including providing hotel accommodation where it is available.

Whilst this is out of our control we apologise for the inconvenience caused and would like to thank passengers for their patience and co-operation. The safety and security of its passengers and crew is the airline's highest priority. We expect operations to return to normal tomorrow morning.

London Luton Airport is in the process of reopening following a security alert that took place earlier this afternoon.

Officers were called to the departure terminal at 1.36pm after airport security raised concerns about an item that was passed through a security check in keeping with the airport’s policies and procedures.

Members of the public were evacuated from the terminal area as a safety precaution while the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team were called in to undertake the necessary checks required.

A controlled explosion was conducted at 5.15pm and it was confirmed that the item destroyed, although deemed suspicious, did not present a wider danger.

Bedfordshire Police can confirm that no one has been arrested in relation to this incident.

The M1 dedicated exit slip/link roads to the J10A spur road for Luton Airport are closed due to an incident at Luton Airport.

Road users travelling to the airport are advised to contact their airlines to establish the status of their flights.