Bomb scare partly closes Amsterdam airport

29 August 2012

Amsterdam - Authorities closed part of Amsterdam Schiphol airport on Wednesday after discovering what they suspected was a World War II bomb, the Dutch airport said.

"Terminal C has been evacuated as a precautionary measure," a Schiphol airport spokesperson said, due to a "serious suspicion" the airport had found a bomb from the war that ended in 1945.

"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 delays," she said.

The terminal handles flights to the European Union's passport-free Schengen zone, which includes most European destinations, including France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

The spokesperson said an explosives team was on its way to inspect the object.