Police have charged a 41-year-old man from France with possession of an air rifle and a knife following a security scare at Gatwick Airport.
The whole of the airport’s North Terminal was evacuated on Saturday morning and remained closed for six hours while a suspicious package was investigated.
Passengers and staff were taken to airport hotels while bomb disposal experts carried out a small controlled explosion.
Jerome Chauris, from Vendome, is due to appear at Crawley Magistrates’ Court this morning.
Sussex police said they were called at around 9.30am following ‘suspicious actions by a man who discarded an item at the airport’.
"Personal items and what appears to be a firearm were recovered and have been removed for forensic examination. However, the viability of the weapon has yet to be established," said a police spokesman.
The accused was ‘landside’ at the airport and had not checked in or passed through any passport or security checks.
"We are aware that there is concern about what has happened in France, but the general threat level remains the same and people should be aware as usual of anyone acting suspiciously and report any concerns immediately," he added.
Security across Europe has been tightened after the terror attacks in Paris, when gunmen opened fire in restaurants and bars, and a concert hall, and blew themselves up just outside a football stadium.
