A number of people were sprayed with what is believed to be a form of pepper spray by a group of men, the Metropolitan Police says
A man in the car park tells the BBC that people were coughing and he felt a burning sensation at the back of his throat
One man is in custody on suspicion of assault, whilst further suspects are being sought by officers
Five people were taken to hospital, the ambulance service says, with a further 16 treated at the scene
Police say it involved an argument between a group of people known to each other which then escalated
Are you affected by the incident? Let us know
This video can not be played
Video shows armed police searching multi-storey car park
Edited by Tinshui Yeung and Andrew Humphrey
Andrée Massiah
BBC Verify
Fin Fraser from Luton returned to Heathrow this morning, from the US, and told the BBC he saw armed police searching vehicles.
“I was coming down the ramp from Terminal 3 and the lights stayed on red for a long time. We didn’t move for about an hour and 20 minutes," he said.
"Then I saw armed police running around and checking people’s vehicles. When they came to ours, they knocked on our window and told us to wind it down, and then they looked inside the car."
He continues by saying "they didn’t say anything else; I guess they didn’t want to panic people".
"It was such a surreal experience. It felt like I was in a James Bond movie,” he adds.
As you may have just seen, travel expert Simon Calder says that it is possible that some passengers may have missed their flights from Terminal 3 today.
That's because, whilst travellers may be delayed by today's incident, flights probably won't wait for them and instead take off as usual.
It's not completely clear whether today's delayed passengers would be entitled to some form of compensation, since this is to do with a police incident. Compensation usually occurs when flights are delayed and cancelled because of the airline.
The independent regulator UK Civil Aviation Authority says it is unlikely that an airline would pay compensation – even if you were at the airport on time – when it comes to other matters like long lines for security.
Though some airlines help their passengers find alternative flights voluntarily.
They recommend that you contact your travel agent or airline to help book you onto an alternative flight. And, if you have travel insurance, contact your provider to see if they're able to help cover your expenses.
Police and Crime Minister Sarah Jones says people in the area "should follow police advice" after the incident at Heathrow this morning, which she is being "regularly updated on".
", externalMy thoughts are with all those affected", she says in an X post, before expressing her "heartfelt thanks" to all emergency services for their "rapid response" and the arrest.

Travel journalist Simon Calder says the disruption happened at a "really busy time", with Terminal 3 handling flights from major airlines including Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Qantas.
"I calculated about 120,000 pasengers are due to fly out of Terminal 3, and the nearby Terminal 2, and nobody could get there I understand for at least an hour," he told the BBC News channel.
This means that people who left plenty of time to travel to the airport, were in danger of missing their flights, he explains, adding: "I'll tell you what, those flights are not going to be held."
The only reason he says he can think of a flight being delayed – which he hasn't seen significantly so far – would be if flight crew had been caught up in the disruption.
For those unable to catch their flight due to the incident, he says passenger rights rules "are silent" on if you are unable to get to the airport.
But, he adds that airlines would be aware of the issues and so would do "their absolute best" to get them on the next available flight to their intended destination.

The scene outside Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 today
Passengers waiting for buses to take them away from Terminal 3 are being handed bottles of water by staff at Heathrow.
One family said they had been waiting for three hours at the bus stop, where they need to catch a shuttle to the long-stay car park.
There is normally a bus every 15 minutes, but passengers report waits of hours.
Harry Fell
Reporting from Heathrow Airport
Queues leading in and out of the Terminal 2 and 3 train station have now dispersed, with there being no apparent delays in train arrivals.
Earlier, we reported that a massive crowd was packed into the station, with some Elizabeth Line trains unable to stop due to overcrowding.
As mentioned in our previous post, video filmed by eyewitness Tom Bate shows armed police responding to the incident in the multi-storey car park this morning.
Officers can be seen moving up and down the spiral ramps in the multi-storey, with traffic at a standstill.
Bate told us earlier that he felt a burning at the back of his throat – it is believed a group of men sprayed a number of people with a form of pepper spray.
This video can not be played
Video shows armed police searching multi-storey car park
Andrée Massiah
BBC News
This image – taken from a video Tom Bate filmed – shows armed police responding to the incident
Tom Bate told the BBC that he thought he was in a middle of an attack.
"I was at Terminal 3 waiting for a lift to get to the parking garage with around 50 other people when I saw young men dressed in black darting through the crowd," says Tom who flew in from the US.
"They went through a side door and up a set of stairs.
"As soon as they left people started coughing, and then I started to cough. I felt a burning at the back of my throat."
After Tom got to his car and started driving out of the car park he saw police arriving.
"About 10 to 20 heavily armed police officers came looking around.
"It was an amazing thing to see the police running to danger.
"I’m so glad to hear now that it’s not terrorism because it felt like I was in a middle of an attack – it was pretty intense.”
Tom Bate shared a video of armed police responding to the incident – we will bring this to you shortly.
Radwa Gamal
BBC World Service, reporting from Heathrow Airport
Police have been stopping passengers who tried to walk into the terminals through the vehicle tunnels, warning that only cars are being allowed through.
Some people were even trying to flag down occupied taxis in the chaos.
Emergency services on the scene told those who had already started walking that buses would be arranged to take them in, stressing that no one is allowed to reach the terminals on foot.
We’ve just received images showing a massive crowd packed into Heathrow Airport Terminal 2 and 3 station.
Passengers are jammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the station.
Earlier, National Rail said train lines have reopened following the incident, but some Elizabeth Line trains weren't able to stop at the station because of overcrowding.
Harry Fell
Reporting from Heathrow Airport
All appears normal on arrival to Heathrow Terminal 3 at 10:45 this morning, apart from some queues getting in and out of the train station. There’s low, grey cloud, passengers wheeling baggage and the sound of planes taking off and landing.
It’s the multi-storey car park opposite where things look different.
The entrances are closed, there’s no traffic passing by, and there are queues of emergency vehicles parked outside.
The disruption hasn’t stretched to flights, according to airline staff and departure boards, which show things running normally – but it has affected those needing to use the car park. Although the car park has just reopened, there has been no free access to it for over two hours This has delayed people returning to their vehicles.
I spoke to a member of flight crew who had just landed on a plane from Bengalaru in southern India. The staff park and ride bus that was due to pick them up is not coming.
Despite being on their feet in light drizzle after a flight of over 10 hours, they are taking it on the chin. It’s messed up their day, they’re desperate to get home, but they say emergency services have protocols to follow.
“If this is the worst it gets, we’re doing alright,” they say.
Videos linked to the incident are circulating on social media. The BBC has verified several of them.
One clip shows a police officer dashing across a road at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3, with a police vehicle and ambulance parked nearby.
Another video shows a group of armed police officers sprinting through the car park, which is completely gridlocked with vehicles trying to get in and out.
A third video shows police arresting a man in a hooded jacket.
We’ll keep bringing you more from the scene as soon as we have it.
Radwa Gamal
BBC World Service, reporting from Heathrow Airport
It took me an hour and a half to get to Terminal 2 this morning — a trip that usually takes under 30 minutes.
By 08:45, traffic was completely frozen outside Heathrow and no one seemed to know why.
The confusion quickly turned into panic as people realised they couldn’t even walk into the terminals from main roads.
Even though the incident is at Terminal 3, the shared road meant Terminal 2 was caught up in it.
Inside, it felt strangely quiet – most passengers were still stuck outside. There was a notable sense or urgency however, as passengers arriving rushed through the terminal to try to make their flights.
At check-in, the staff told me they were expecting delays because so many people hadn’t managed to reach the airport yet.
Heathrow Airport says the incident at the multi-storey car park has "now been contained" by the Met Police.
In an update, a spokesperson says "congestion remains on surrounding roads following the incident", which they are working to resolve as quickly as possible.
"We are advising passengers to use public transport", they say, adding that an "increased police presence" will be around the airport to maintain safety and reassure passengers.
Earlier, crowds could be seen gathering by the tube barriers at Heathrow, where some platforms were closed due to the incident.
National Rail says train lines have reopened but some Elizabeth Line trains were unable to stop at Terminal 2 & 3 due to overcrowding.
Passengers were told to travel to the Terminal 4 or Terminal 5 stations and change to the Piccadilly Line.
Departures from Heathrow Terminal 3 look to be running as normal, with no delays out of the ordinary.
The terminal's multi-storey car park has also reopened, the airport has said.
Five people have been taken to hospital, says the London Ambulance Service.
It says it was called at 8.04am to reports of an incident at Heathrow Airport.
"We sent a number of resources to the scene, and cared for 21 patients" it says. "Five patients were taken to hospital."
"The ambulance service was stood down from the scene at 10.58am," it adds.
National Highways says that all road closures relating to the Heathrow incident have been lifted.
"Incident has been resolved and all closures lifted on the M4 southbound @HeathrowAirport spur road between #M4 and J4A."
In a separate update however, National Highways adds that there are "delays on approach" to the Heathrow Airport Tunnel of over 45 minutes. It says to allow extra journey time if travelling to the airport today.
These follow an earlier update it gave that a "serious incident" within the Heathrow Tunnel had led to the road closures.
A protester in Chicago is treated with water after coming into contact with chemical weapons spray, September 2025
Police say some form of pepper spray was used by a group of men on a number of people in the incident, here's more information about the substance.
Pepper spray is a self-defence spray.
It's classified as an offensive weapon and is illegal in the UK to posess, buy or carry for the general public.
Police officers are authorised to carry and use the sprays in some situations, such as for crowd control or in self-defence.
It's made of capsaicin, a chemical found in chilli peppers that makes them hot. But the spray contains much higher concentration of capsaicin than chilli peppers.
When it comes into contact with a person's eyes, pepper spray can cause pain, burning sensation and tears. It can also induce coughing, difficulty breathing, chest pain, rashes or difficulty speaking.
Symptoms typically resolve after around 30-minutes but in some cases there can be more serious effects.
Radwa Gamal
Reporting from Heathrow Airport
Traffic heading into Heathrow Terminal 2 & 3 has ground to a halt, with police blocking the roads and no clear information for drivers.
Some passengers, anxious about missing their flights, have started getting out of cars and taxis and walking up the road with their luggage, even past signs warning “no pedestrians beyond this point.”
Officers are stopping them and sending people back, telling passengers to stay in their vehicles while they deal with the incident.
Images also show the police conducting vehicle searches. A Met Police statement published earlier this morning says that "enquiries continue to trace further suspects".
An officer is seen opening the back door of a vehicle in the car park area
These images are taken from a video we'll bring you shortly
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