Travellers faced chaos at London Heathrow Airport on Sunday, where police said some 21 people were apparently injured by pepper spray.
London’s Metropolitan Police said they were called to a parking garage at Terminal 3 around 8 a.m. after a number of people were sprayed by a group of men who left the scene.
Armed officers arrived and arrested a man on suspicion of assault within nine minutes of the first report, it added.
“At this stage, it’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,” said Commander Peter Stevens.
He added that it occurred in an elevator, and those directly involved are believed to be known to each other.
21 people were treated by the London Ambulance Service, including a three-year-old child, the police said. Five of them were taken to hospital.
While the terminal remained open, the disruption put many people at risk of missing their flights.
Heathrow is the busiest airport in Europe, serving over 80 million passengers last year.
In an X post, Heathrow Airport advised passengers to allow extra time when travelling to the airport and to check with their airline for any questions.
A highway into Terminals 3 and 2 was closed for about an hour before reopening, according to an X post from National Highways.
It then said it closed it again on the airport’s request, “due to the amount of vehicles and pedestrians within the tunnel,” but reopened within 30 minutes.
The BBC reported that some passengers were seen getting out of cars and walking down a road with their luggage, towards signs that warned “no pedestrians beyond this point.”
There were also delays of 45 minutes approaching the airport, according to National Highways, while Elizabeth Line trains stopped serving the terminals for over an hour.
