Groningen airport evacuated over abandoned suitcase; false alarm

The Groningen Airport in Eelde was evacuated on Tuesday morning after an abandoned suitcase was noticed, a spokesperson for the Koninklijke Marechaussee confirmed to AD. After a sniffer dog, specially flown in from Schiphol, found nothing suspicious in the suitcase, the airport was released again.

The Marechaussee - a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for airport security - instructed everyone in the airport to keep a safe distance from the unattended suitcase as a precaution. As the terminal is pretty small, this resulted in everyone having to leave the building. Travelers were directed to wait in the restaurant, according to AD.

A special sniffer dog and his handler were flown in from Schiphol by helicopter to investigate. At around 11:00 a.m. the Marechaussee reported that nothing suspicious was found in the suitcase. The airport was closed down for about an hour.

Speurhond #marechaussee treft niets aan. #marechaussee geeft terminal Groningen Airport Eelde vrij.

— Koninklijke Marechaussee (@Marechaussee) April 11, 2017