--- description: Authorities confirmed that they arrested a 25-year-old man under anti-terrorism laws after a suspected chemical alert on Friday title: U.K. Police Arrest Man in Suspected Chemical Attack on London Airport image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f24b697eb714eb9/6988ab410b72e37efb6eb775/london-city-chemical.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kindgom](/tag/united-kindgom/) ## United Kindgom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.K. Police Arrest Man in Suspected Chemical Attack on London Airport by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 2:59 PM CUT  Police officers secure the entrance to London's City Airport on October 21, 2016 after an evacuation. Police officers secure the entrance to London's City Airport on October 21, 2016 after an evacuation.Daniel Leal-Olivas —AFP/Getty Images by [Tara John](/author/tara-john/) ## Tara John Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 24, 2016 2:59 PM CUT U.K. authorities have arrested a 25-year-old man under anti-[terrorism laws](http://time.com/4386799/istanbul-airport-terror-attack/ "undefined") in a suspected chemical attack that forced the evacuation of London City Airport on Friday. “He was arrested on suspicion of using a noxious substance to cause serious damage – an offence under section 113 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001,” London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday. The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested Saturday at his home in east London. He has since been released on bail until he returns to court to face charges in late November, [the BBC reports](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-37753261?ns%5Fmchannel=social&ns%5Fcampaign=bbc%5Fbreaking&ns%5Fsource=twitter&ns%5Flinkname=news%5Fcentral "undefined"). More than two dozen people were treated for breathing difficulties at the airport after the incident, which police initially thought may have been caused by a discarded canister of CS gas, also known as tear gas. Police and firefighters in protective clothing conducted a three-hour investigation before declaring the airport as safe, the [Associated Press reports](http://www.apexchange.com/pages/OneUp.aspx?id=0f0b66587b88481d882852affd42723f&links=LONDON,AIRPORT,USABL,W43Y2016,WK43Y2016&fid=ff550c5861c0475cba180afe77ec6e4d&Token=&media=Text&slug=AP-EU-Britain-Airport-Evacuated&format=nitf&site=1 "undefined"), halting all flights to the airport. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4542496/london-city-airport-chemical-incident/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4542496/london-city-airport-chemical-incident/"},"headline":"U.K. Police Arrest Man in Suspected Chemical Attack on London Airport","datePublished":"2016-10-24T14:59:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:22:28.995Z","description":"He was arrested under anti-terrorism laws","url":"https://time.com/4542496/london-city-airport-chemical-incident/","keywords":["United Kindgom"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f24b697eb714eb9/6988ab410b72e37efb6eb775/london-city-chemical.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tara John","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tara-john/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9f24b697eb714eb9/6988ab410b72e37efb6eb775/london-city-chemical.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Police officers secure the entrance to London's City Airport on October 21, 2016 after an evacuation.","caption":"Police officers secure the entrance to London's City Airport on October 21, 2016 after an evacuation.","creditText":"Daniel Leal-Olivas —AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kindgom/","name":"United Kindgom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4542496/london-city-airport-chemical-incident/","name":"U.K. Police Arrest Man in Suspected Chemical Attack on London Airport"}}]}] ```