Gatwick's South Terminal has reopened after an earlier evacuation, prompted by reports of a "suspect" package.

Disruption continues, with some airlines still warning of cancelled and delayed flights.

Here's how the day unfolded:

• The South Terminal was evacuated at 10:55 GMT, with the airport citing a security incident – the North Terminal was unaffected
• Police said an explosive disposal team had been deployed "as a precaution" after a "suspected prohibited item" was found in luggage – police cars and search dogs were seen arriving
• Some flights to and from the airport were cancelled or delayed, and rail services to the airport were suspended

• Passengers reported waiting outside for hours, with thermal blankets provided due to the cold weather
• The airport reopened in the afternoon, but disruption continues and passengers have been advised to continue checking with their airlines
• At around 16:30 GMT, Sussex Police said officers from an explosive disposal squad made the suspect package "safe" and the airport had been "handed back" to its operator
• The force said two people were detained "while enquiries were ongoing" but were released and allowed to "continue their journeys"

We're ending our live coverage now, but you can keep up with the latest on the Gatwick disruption in our main news story.

Insaf Abbas
Reporting from Gatwick Airport

Image source, Kalin Argibay-Nastovski

Hotels around Gatwick Airport are filling up with passengers whose flights have been cancelled.

Kalin Argibay-Nastovski, a 14-year-old from Bath, had an afternoon flight booked to visit his grandmother in Spain with his parents. They were due to celebrate her birthday.

Now they’re stranded at a nearby hotel with no idea when they can fly.

He says the hotel is "busy" and that his family managed to get one of the last rooms.

"We don't know what to do," he tells me.

Rozina Sini
BBC News

A passenger who says they are stuck at Gatwick Airport with no information about when their flight will depart has spoken to the BBC about their experience.

Stephen Burrell says he was due to depart for Copenhagen at 14:00 GMT with Norwegian Airlines and was one of the first passengers to re-enter Gatwick's South Terminal after it reopened following the earlier evacuation.

“I am stuck at Gatwick Airport," he says, describing how there is "nothing" on the departure board about his flight and "no announcements".

He also says he attempted to leave the airport after being allowed back in, but was told someone from the airline would need to escort him out – after waiting more than an hour no one came, he adds.

“I just want to know whether the flight is leaving, or whether we should rebook or something. This is disgraceful. We feel likes prisoners and we haven’t done anything wrong," he says.

"There are people still here whose flights were supposed to be this morning. There are people sitting on the floor – elderly people and children I don’t see how this is going to change.

“People are getting upset and are approaching security aggressively. It could get messy.“

Disruption to trains calling at Gatwick's railway station has now cleared, rail operators serving the airport have confirmed.

Since the station reopened, trains had been additionally calling at nearby Horley and Three Bridges, as well as Gatwick, in order to ease busy platforms from earlier in the day.

Trains are now running as timetabled for the rest of the evening.

We can see on the real-time flight-tracking website Flightradar24 that the Spanish carrier Vueling ordered two inbound flights to turn around due to Gatwick temporarily closing its South Terminal.

One flight, from Barcelona, was due to land at Gatwick at 12:05 GMT, but according to Flightradar24 is currently still at the origin airport.

Another flight from Seville was due into Gatwick at 13:15, but is now expected to arrive at 18:19, according to the airport's arrivals board.

The question on the minds of many of those impacted today is about which rights, if any, they may have to any compensation because of the disruption.

Under UK law, airlines have to pay compensation to passengers when their flights are delayed or cancelled, but only in some circumstances.

There are two key factors in deciding that, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says - how severely you have been inconvenienced and the cause of the delay.

But if a delay is caused by an "extraordinary circumstance", you won't be eligible for any compensation.

Unfortunately, today's Gatwick disruption falls into that category - so those faced with disruption due to the South Terminal closure won't be able to claim.

However, individual airlines often try to assist customers in these circumstances. That can include rebooking you onto another flight your original flight is cancelled, or providing food and drink vouchers if you're delayed for a certain period of time.

Passengers with travel insurance should also check if they can claim any expenses back through that.

As the South Terminal gets its operations under way again, Gatwick Airport's support staff are continuing to respond to passenger questions via X. , external

Recent replies advise people to continue checking directly with airlines if their flight is impacted by today's disruption.

Onur Erem
Reporting from Gatwick Airport

Several hours after the South Terminal was evacuated, passengers cheered as they were told they would be allowed back in, which I captured in this video.

Although everyone is hoping they will be able to reach their destinations today, many flights remain delayed or cancelled.

We can bring you an update now from Sussex Police, which says the package reported as suspect has been made "safe" by officers from a bomb disposal team.

It says the airport has now been "handed back" to its operator.

The investigation into a report of a suspect package has been completed, the force says in a statement.

Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have been released and "allowed to continue their journeys", it says.

"There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel," it says, thanking those affected for their patience.

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Gatwick says its South Terminal is reopening, but departure boards indicate the disruption caused by the earlier evacuation will continue.

Here's how the situation was looking in the past half hour:

• Around 35 arrivals at the South Terminal, going up to midnight, were showing as cancelled. But many flights were still not listed as cancelled and had expected arrival times
• Departures had resumed from the South Terminal, but numerous flights were delayed by a few hours. There were none showing as cancelled, but around 45 that were due to take off earlier or were due to take off before 19:45 GMT were showing as "enquire airline". Separately, some airlines have issued statements announcing departures that have been cancelled

• North Terminal arrivals and departures appeared to be operating roughly as normal

As the South Terminal, railway station and bus routes remained closed earlier, some stranded passengers resorted to different methods in a bid to keep their journey going.

Pictures have come in showing people walking to the airport, as well as one passenger standing at the roadside with their thumb out, seemingly attempting to hitchhike.

As we reported, many of those evacuated from the airport were also handed thermal, foil blankets while they stood outside in chilly temperatures.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Trains are starting to call at Gatwick Airport's railway station again, judging by real-time data from National Rail.

According to live arrivals, the first train to call at the station since today's closure was lifted was at 15:25 GMT - a Thameslink service from Brighton to Cambridge that had been due at Gatwick at 15:15 GMT.

Further trains are now showing as scheduled to stop at the station, although many are delayed and some future services are cancelled.

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) which operates Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services to the station, says lines have reopened but disruption will continue.

Deirdre Finnerty
Reporting from Gatwick Airport

Passengers waiting to take the shuttle to the South Terminal are greeting the news that the building has been reopened with a cautious optimism.

“Until we’re on the plane, we can’t relax. I’m worried that so many planes are delayed that some won’t actually take off," says Alaia, 18, who's trying to return to Barcelona.

Standing next to her is Jacqueline Kennedy, 28, who is trying to reschedule her cancelled Ryanair flight to Dublin. “I can’t change my booking. I’m looking forward to getting inside to speak to someone,” she says, as she refreshes the app on her phone.

A few feet away, another group of women cheer and whoop as security staff tell them they will not need to wait long to get to the south terminal.

They had been hoping to go to France for a 21st birthday celebration but their flight has also been cancelled. “I’ll be happy if I can get on a flight,” Desiree Bennett says.

• Gatwick Airport has just announced that the security alert has been resolved and its South Terminal is reopening to staff, with passengers also expected to be allowed in "shortly"
• Trains will start calling at the airport once the terminal is fully reopened, it added
• Some delays and cancellations continue, and passengers are advised to contact their airline for updates
• The airport's South Terminal was evacuated at 10:55 GMT this morning following a "security incident"
• The North Terminal was unaffected
• Hundreds of people waited outside the terminal hoping they would catch their flights - with some saying they have been waiting for hours in the cold

Onur Erem
Reporting from Gatwick Airport

After waiting for hours in the North Terminal and interviewing a passenger for TV, I've heard that it's now possible to walk to the South Terminal.

I decided to give it a go, walked 15 minutes only to be stopped by the police.

There are dozens of people here and this is as close as we can get to the terminal. A group of people walked past us and entered the building.

Police told us that they're security staff, and they're the first group to get back to work. Then rest of the staff will be allowed, and finally us, the passengers.

Here's more from Gatwick Airport, which just confirmed that its South Terminal will soon be reopening to staff and passengers.

"The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police. The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly," a statement says.

It continues: "Trains will also start calling at Gatwick Airport once the terminal is fully reopened. We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding while this situation was resolved. Safety and security is always our top priority.

"There are some delays and cancellations, passengers should contact their airline for any updates on flights."

Gatwick Airport has posted on X to say that the security alert has been resolved and the South Terminal will reopen "shortly".

We'll bring you more on this momentarily.

George Carden
BBC Radio Sussex, at Gatwick Airport

John Mather arrived at Gatwick from Costa Rica earlier and tells me that the situation at the airport is "chaos".

"We landed at the South Terminal which is completely closed," he says. "We were then bussed to the North Terminal, where we went through immigration and collected our bags.

John goes on to say that "no one seems to know what they are doing" in the North Terminal, and he had "no help whatsoever from airport or security staff".

I spoke to John at a bus stop, which he walked to because, as he puts it, "everything seems to be closed at the North Terminal".

He knows that in normal circumstances he could catch a bus from here to his home in Croydon, as he has done so during previous train strikes, but says there has no bus for an hour-and-a-half.

John says his only option now is to walk to Horley, which will take him 30 minutes, from where he can catch a train home.

"It's hopeless, I'm stuck here", he says. "Croydon is only 20 minutes down the line on the train, but it looks like its going to take me hours to get back".

As we've been reporting, trains aren't able to stop at Gatwick's railway station due to the ongoing security incident.

That's causing an impact for passengers trying to reach Gatwick's North Terminal, which is currently unaffected and operating as usual, as well as those still flying in and wanting to travel out of the airport.

Passengers have taken to X to advise of queues at nearby railway stations - like Horley and Three Bridges - as people try to get taxis or arrange alternative transport.

Trains are still calling at those stations, but some services are experiencing knock-on delays due to the Gatwick disruption.