WW2 Bomb Causes Airport Evacuation

Amsterdam's Schiphol airport has been evacuated after discovering a suspected World War II bomb.

The unexploded German bomb was found during construction work underground Terminal C, which serves most European destinations. The airport responded by evacuating and closing Terminal C, as well as parts of Terminal D and one landing strip.

A bomb disposal team has taken the 500kg explosive to a safe location to be dismantled. Schiphol was a military airport during the World War II by Nazi Germany, which experienced frequent attacks by allied bombers.

WW2 Bomb Airport Evacuation

After the discovery, a spokeswoman for the airport said, "This will have a big impact. We can park planes somewhere else to some extent but at some point it will lead to cancellations or delay." Schiphol is Europe's fifth busiest airport, handling around 48 million passengers every year. According to Schphol's website, flights by airline KLM have been affected.

There have been delayed flights to and from the airport, and cancellations to departures to destinations including Glasgow, Scotland, Gothenburg, Sweden, and Frankfurt, Germany. Passengers are being advised to check the status of their flights before leaving from the airport. Despite over 70 years passing, bombs are still frequently discovered in Europe.

The evacuation from Amsterdam's airport came only hours after a WWII bomb was safely detonated in the German city of Munich, after being discovered on Tuesday. The 250 kg bomb was found near the Schwabing district in the northern area of the city.

A 1.5-tonne mortar bomb was also discovered in Warsaw, before being safely removed from the Polish capital. Schiphol was also in the news today with a hijack alert, after an airline was escorted to land at the airport by two F16 fighter jets.

It was initially thought that a plane from the Spanish airline Vueling travelling from Malaga in Spain had been taken over to Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. Dutch media reported no radio contact on takeoff, and it was believed hostages were taken.

Police surrounded the passenger jet on landing in the belief that a hijacker was on board. However, the latest reports have indicated that there had been a mix-up in communications, and that the airliner had not been hijacked.

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