London’s Heathrow Airport shuts Terminal 4 after possible ‘hazardous materials’ scare

Police informed that about 20 people reported injury in the incident but added that “no trace of any adverse substance was found”. London’s Heathrow Airport apologised for the disruption on X and said that it was “doing everything we can” to ensure all flights depart as planned.

Emergency services have confirmed Terminal 4 is safe to reopen and we are doing everything we can to ensure all flights depart as planned today. We are very sorry for the disruption caused, the safety and security of our passengers and colleagues is our number one priority. We… pic.twitter.com/AykEmpgnKh

— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) September 8, 2025

A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said that the fire agency stood down its response to the incident after earlier being called to reports of a “possible hazardous materials incident”.

Outside of Terminal 4, crowds started to gather and staff handed them foil blankets as temperatures began to fall, as a witness said they were confused as “no one really knew what was going on,” The Independent reported.

Emergency services were called to the scene at Terminal 4 at around 5pm today after a number of people reported feeling unwell #DailyExpress https://t.co/EWWKPZso7l pic.twitter.com/xPpM6THyjR

— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) September 8, 2025

At 8:27pm (local time) on Monday, the airport informed on X that emergency services have confirmed the terminal was “safe to reopen”. The Metropolitan Police in a statement said “no trace of any adverse substance was found,” adding that about 20 people had “reported an injury” and were assessed by paramedics but none were life threatening in nature.

A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said, “Emergency services have confirmed Terminal 4 is safe to reopen and we are doing everything we can to ensure all flights depart as planned today.”

The airport spokesperson added, “We encourage passengers to check with their airline for the latest information about their flight this evening and our colleagues will be on hand into the night to assist.”

(with inputs from The Independent, BBC)