Editing Heathrow Airport (section)

===Terrorism and security incidents===
* On 8 June 1968, [[James Earl Ray]], the suspect in the 4 April 1968 [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]], was captured, arrested, and [[extradite]]d back to the [[United States]] at Heathrow Airport while attempting to leave the United Kingdom for Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) on a false Canadian passport.<ref name="Borrell1968">{{cite news|first=Clive|last=Borrell|title=Ramon Sneyd denies that he killed Dr King|url=http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1968-06-28-02-006&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1968-06-28-02|work=The Times|location=London|page=2|date=28 June 1968|access-date=13 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713081131/http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1968-06-28-02-006&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1968-06-28-02|archive-date=13 July 2009|url-status=dead}}{{subscription required}}</ref>
* On 6 September 1970, [[El Al Flight 219]] experienced an attempted hijack by two [[PFLP]] members. One hijacker was killed and the other was subdued as the plane made an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport.
* On 19 May 1974, the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] planted a series of bombs in the Terminal 1 car park. Two people were injured by the explosions.<ref name="Ref_ax">{{cite web|url=http://www.milesfaster.co.uk/information/heathrow-airport/heathrow-history.htm|title=Heathrow Airport History|publisher=Milesfaster.co.uk|access-date=31 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518004154/http://www.milesfaster.co.uk/information/heathrow-airport/heathrow-history.htm|archive-date=18 May 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>
* On 26 November 1983, the [[Brink's-Mat robbery]] occurred, in which 6,800 gold bars worth nearly £26{{nbsp}}million were taken from a vault near Heathrow. Only a small amount of the gold was recovered and only two men were convicted of the crime.<ref name="Ref_2000">{{cite news|title=Brinks Mat gold|date=15 April 2000|work=BBC News|access-date=23 March 2018|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/714289.stm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817153656/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/714289.stm|archive-date=17 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
* On 17 April 1986, [[semtex]] explosives were found in the bag of a pregnant Irish woman attempting to board an [[El Al]] flight. The explosives had been given to her by her Jordanian boyfriend and the father of her unborn child [[Nizar Hindawi]]. The incident became known as the [[Hindawi Affair]].<ref name="Reynolds2002">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2581277.stm|title=Assad engages politics of politeness|date=16 December 2002|work=BBC News|access-date=23 March 2018|first=Paul|last=Reynolds|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040613114202/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2581277.stm|archive-date=13 June 2004|url-status=live}}</ref>
*On 21 December 1988, [[Pan Am Flight 103]] exploded mid-air over the town of Lockerbie, killing all 259 onboard and eleven people on the ground. The flight originated from Frankfurt as a feeder flight with a change of aircraft at Heathrow and was on its transatlantic leg to New York's JFK airport at the time of the incident. An unaccompanied suitcase containing a boombox radio/cassette player which housed the explosive was checked in at Malta and forwarded as interline baggage for this flight at Frankfurt, wherein it made its way to the transatlantic leg.
* In 1994, over six days, Heathrow was targeted three times (8, 10, and 13 March) by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]], which fired 12 mortars. Heathrow was a symbolic target due to its importance to the UK economy, and much disruption was caused when areas of the airport were closed over the period. The gravity of the incident was heightened because [[Elizabeth II|the Queen]] was being flown back to Heathrow by the RAF on 10 March.<ref name="Henderson1998">{{cite book|title=Silent Swift Superb: The Story of the Vickers VC10|last=Henderson|first=Scott|year=1998|publisher=Scoval|location=Newcastle-upon-Tyne|isbn=978-1-901125-02-3|page=130}}</ref>
* In March 2002, thieves stole US$3{{nbsp}}million that had arrived on a [[South African Airways]] flight. Just a few weeks earlier, a similar amount of money was stolen from a [[British Airways]] flight that arrived from Bahrain.<ref name="Ref_2002a">{{cite news|title=$3m heist at Heathrow|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1880953.stm|date=19 March 2002|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808005230/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1880953.stm|archive-date=8 August 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In February 2003, the [[British Army]] was deployed to Heathrow along with 1,000 police officers in response to intelligence reports suggesting that [[al-Qaeda]] terrorists might launch [[surface-to-air missile]] attacks at British or American airliners.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bamber |first1=David |last2=Craig |first2=Olga |last3=Elliott |first3=Francis |date=16 February 2003 |title=Blair sent in tanks after 'chilling' threat |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1422243/Blair-sent-in-tanks-after-chilling-threat.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 May 2023 |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |archive-date=7 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507183200/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1422243/Blair-sent-in-tanks-after-chilling-threat.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* On 17 May 2004, Scotland Yard's [[Flying Squad]] foiled an attempt by seven men to steal £40{{nbsp}}million in gold bullion and a similar quantity of cash from the [[Swissport]] warehouse at Heathrow.<ref name="Ref_az">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3723839.stm|title=Flying Squad foils £80m robbery|date=18 May 2004|work=BBC News|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710013336/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3723839.stm|archive-date=10 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
* On 25 February 2008, [[Greenpeace]] activists protesting against the planned construction of a third runway managed to cross the ramp and climb atop a British Airways [[Airbus A320]], which had just arrived from [[Manchester Airport]]. At about 09:45 GMT the protesters unveiled a "Climate Emergency – No Third Runway" banner over the aircraft's [[Vertical stabiliser|tailfin]]. By 11:00 GMT four arrests had been made.<ref name="Ref_2008e">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7262614.stm|title=Climate protest on Heathrow plane|date=25 February 2008|work=BBC News|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229004619/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7262614.stm|archive-date=29 February 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>
* In October 2010, an Angolan national was being deported on a British Airways plane. Security guards were heavy-handed with him and they put him in a dangerous position, leading to asphyxia. He did not survive.<ref>{{cite web |date=16 December 2014 |title=G4S guards cleared of using 'carpet karaoke' technique to kill deportee on British Airways flight |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11296844/G4S-guards-cleared-of-killing-deportee-on-British-Airways-flight-using-carpet-karaoke-technique.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 May 2023 |website=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |archive-date=20 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120223214/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11296844/G4S-guards-cleared-of-killing-deportee-on-British-Airways-flight-using-carpet-karaoke-technique.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* On 13 July 2015, thirteen activists belonging to the climate change protest group [[Plane Stupid]] managed to break through the perimeter fence and get onto the northern runway. They chained themselves together in protest, disrupting hundreds of flights. All were eventually arrested.<ref>{{cite news|title=London Heathrow cancels flights due to protests over third runway|first=Alan|last=Dron|publisher=[[Air Transport World]]|date=13 July 2015|url=http://atwonline.com/eco-aviation/london-heathrow-cancels-flights-due-protests-over-third-runway|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715021411/http://atwonline.com/eco-aviation/london-heathrow-cancels-flights-due-protests-over-third-runway|archive-date=15 July 2015|url-status=dead}}{{nbsp}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33503167|title=Heathrow Airport climate change protest delays flights|date=13 July 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117030638/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33503167|archive-date=17 November 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
*In June 2022, many protesters gathered at Heathrow and Gatwick airports to protest the [[Rwanda asylum plan|UK-Rwanda deal]]. A flight which was supposed to carry asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda was cancelled.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/15/day-of-drama-and-despair-before-rwanda-flight-called-off | title=Day of drama and despair before Rwanda flight called off |last1=Taylor|first1=Diane|last2=Syal|first2=Rajeev|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London | date=15 June 2022 }}</ref>
*In December 2022, a piece of [[uranium]] metal discovered in the airport triggered a counter-terrorism investigation. It was found in the scrap metal package originated from [[Pakistan]] via a passenger flight from Oman on 29 December. It was bound for an Iranian business with premises in the UK.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/11/heathrow-uranium-seizure-raises-questions-over-what-it-was-for | title=Uranium was embedded in metal bars seized at Heathrow|last1=Sabbagh|first1=Dan|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London | date=11 January 2023 }}</ref>