Police in the United Kingdom are continuing to undertake a manhunt for the remaining suspects who were involved in a pepper spray attack at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) yesterday morning. The four men are said to have used pepper spray in a lengthy assault, whereby luggage was also stolen.

Law enforcement officers were able to arrest one of the four suspects at the scene yesterday morning, but the remaining three are still at large. The attack resulted in 21 people being injured, and caused considerable disruption at the airport as areas were closed while police searched for the suspects.

What Happened Yesterday Morning?

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According to the BBC, the incident began at around 8:00 am local time on Sunday, December 7, when a woman’s suitcase was stolen by a group of four men in one of the car parks serving Terminal 3 at London Heathrow Airport. The first call to the emergency services was made at 8:11 am, with multiple bystanders in the vicinity of the attack having been caught in the crossfire when the assailants deployed pepper spray during the theft.

The Metropolitan Police has since been able to confirm that it arrested a 31-year-old male at the scene of the crime on suspicion of assault, with the force adding that the incident was isolated and not being treated as an act of terror. 21 people were treated for injuries as a result of their exposure to the pepper spray, with five needing to be taken to the hospital. The airport confirmed in a statement issued via its X page yesterday that:

“Our teams are currently responding to an incident involving the emergency services in the Terminal 3 multi-storey car park. Passengers are advised to allow extra time when travelling to the airport.”

The Incident Resulted In Delays & Disruption In The Central Terminal Area

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Beyond the injuries suffered by those in the vicinity of the attack, which are not thought to have been life-threatening or life-changing, the incident also resulted in considerable operational disruption at the busiest airport in the UK yesterday. All in all, the car park where the assault unfolded had to be closed for around three hours, and only reopened at around 11:30 am. Trains were also delayed amid a partial closure of the Central Terminal Area.

Due to the car park closure, a considerable backlog of passengers awaiting shuttle buses developed. While these normally run every 15 minutes, reporting by the BBC suggested that some guests had to wait as long as three hours due to the disruption. During this time, airport staff distributed water bottles.

According to tracking data made available by Flight Aware, 190 departures were delayed at London Heathrow Airport on Sunday, which is more than twice as many as the 94 that had met this fate the day before. The BBC notes that the Met Police is working “to determine the full circumstances around what happened,” but believes that those directly involved in the confrontation were known to each other. The manhunt continues.

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Which Airlines Use Terminal 3 At London Heathrow Airport?

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Terminal 3 is one of the four main operational passenger terminals at London Heathrow Airport, along with Terminals 2, 3, and 5. It forms part of the aforementioned Central Terminal Area with Terminal 2, and the two facilities share a railway and London Underground station known as Heathrow Central. This part of the airport also used to be home to Terminal 1, but this facility closed in 2015 and is now used for baggage processing.

T3 is home to a diverse range of airlines, with its primary role being to serve British Airways’ fellow oneworld members such as American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, and SriLankan Airlines. BA itself also operates select flights to and from T3, with the facility’s other users including the likes of SkyTeam’s Aeroméxico, China Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Virgin Atlantic, as well as Emirates.