A 31-year-old man has been arrested following a security breach at L.F. Wade International Airport this morning.

A press conference at the airport heard that at 4 a.m. today someone was found in a restricted area at the airport without authority. As a result planes were grounded and the American Airlines flights 1325 to Miami and flight 1443 to New York were delayed, although one has now taken off and another was due to leave an hour later.

This newspaper understands the airport went on lockdown after an airport worker was spotted trying to access an aeroplane. Bomb squads, fire trucks and Police were all called to the scene.

In a statement at 12.30 pm today, a Police spokesman said: "At 4 am, Police responded to the L. F. Wade International Airport where the Airport Security Police reported that a breach of security had occurred.

"They reported that a man was found in a restricted area without authority. A 31-year-old Warwick man was subsequently arrested by police and is now in custody assisting with inquiries.

"Two American Airlines planes were fully checked and deemed safe for travel. One of those planes has already left the jurisdiction while the other is due to leave Bermuda within the hour. An on-going operation is underway at the airport involving the police, Department of Airport Operations and other agencies to investigate this matter fully."

This afternoon the Department of Transport released a statement which said the incident was reported to senior airport officials and to the Bermuda Police Service.

It added: “As a precautionary measure, two American Airlines aircraft that were parked outside the terminal building were fully inspected by Bermuda Police officials before being deemed safe for travel. The safety checks resulted in two and three hour delays respectively for American's Miami and New York flights. There were no other flight disruptions caused.”

Airport General Manager, Aaron Adderley, said the incident was being taken “very seriously” and was under active investigation by the Department of Airport Operations and the Bermuda Police Service.

He confirmed that following the investigation, there would likely be added security measures put into place.

"While there was never any intelligence to suggest that the security breach was an attempt to do anything improper, we felt it necessary to do a drastic and methodical check of the two aircraft that were parked on the Apron before we felt it was safe to clear them for travel," Mr. Adderley said.

Despite the delays, he said that American Airlines officials were very happy at the extensive actions taken by the airport in response to the incident.

"While we certainly cannot recall having a breach of this sort in recent memory, we will investigate it thoroughly to ensure that measures are put in place to minimise the risk of it happening again."

* See the full story in tomorrow's Royal Gazette.