Amsterdam Airport Closed by Bomb—From WWII

Schiphol also deals with a false hijacking report
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 29, 2012 9:16 AM CDT
Amsterdam Airport Closed by Bomb—From WWII
An ambulance is seen in front of a passenger plane from Malaga in Spain at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012.   (AP Photo/Cris Toala Olivares)

It's been a relatively crazy day at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, which has had to deal with a bomb threat—straight out of World War II—and a hijacking ... that apparently never happened.

  • Terminal C and part of Terminal D were shuttered today after construction workers found something unusual buried beneath the former: an unexploded bomb from WWII. How did the 1,100-pound German bomb end up underground? Reuters explains Schiphol served as a military airport during the war, and was bombed by the Germans. The discovery forced the cancellation of some flights. (More historical trivia: The AP adds that Nazis eventually took over the airport, leading Allied forces to also bomb it.)

  • Meanwhile, reports that a plane was hijacked en route from Malaga in Spain to Schiphol today ended up being false. Dutch media initially reported that the plane was escorted to the airport by two F16 fighter jets, but Spanish airline Vueling tweeted this explanation, per the AP: "Amsterdam's protocol for security was activated owing to a temporary loss of communication between the plane and air traffic control." One of the passengers on board reportedly added that all was calm and there was no hostage situation.
(More Amsterdam Schiphol Airport stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X