Heathrow Evacuation Chaos: Maltese Holidaymakers Stranded as Terminal 5 Shuts Over Baby Powder Scare

Malta’s holidaymakers woke up to chaos this morning after Heathrow’s Terminal 5 was evacuated following reports of “possible hazardous materials” in the check-in area. For hundreds of Maltese passengers, the alert came at the worst possible time: the start of the first full week of school holidays and the eve of the popular Maltese festa season in Ħamrun and Rabat. What should have been a smooth sprint from London to the warmth of a village square and a plate of rabbit stew turned into a sweaty stand-off with armed police and hazmat teams.

Eyewitnesses described a surreal scene: suitcases abandoned mid-queue, duty-free bags spilling perfume onto the floor, and the unmistakable red-and-white Maltese passport covers flicking open as officials tried to separate EU from non-EU queues in the confusion. “We had just checked in for the late-morning KM Malta flight to Luqa when alarms started screaming,” said Maria Vella, a London-based nurse from Mosta travelling home for her niece’s confirmation. “All of a sudden staff shouted, ‘Out, out!’—no time to grab our ħobż biż-żejt we’d bought at Marks & Spencer.”

By 11:30 a.m. local time, the entire terminal had been sealed. Roads feeding into the airport’s perimeter were gridlocked, and Transport for London warned of knock-on delays across the Piccadilly Line—the same line that shuttles thousands of Maltese students and workers between Heathrow and the Maltese community hubs of Hammersmith and Earl’s Court every year.

From a Maltese standpoint, the timing could not be worse. With the village festas of St Joseph in Ħamrun and St Paul in Rabat kicking off this weekend, many travellers had booked today’s flights precisely to beat the last-minute rush. “My band club needs me back for the marċ tal-brijju on Friday night,” lamented Etienne Pace, a saxophonist with the Għaqda Mużikali San Gejtanu. “If I miss rehearsal, I’ll be out of step with the rest of the brass section. It’s a matter of national pride—and my nanna will kill me.”

Malta High Commission staff in London immediately activated their emergency protocol, setting up a makeshift help-desk at the terminal’s multi-faith prayer room—ironically one of the few areas left untouched by the cordon. Consul General Karl Briffa told Hot Malta, “We have 312 Maltese passport holders currently on the flight manifests affected by the closure. We’re working with British Airways and KM Malta to rebook or reroute them, and we’ve arranged complimentary pastizzi and Kinnie from the Maltese kiosk in Southall for anyone stuck overnight.”

The incident also reverberated back home. Prime Minister Robert Abela tweeted within minutes: “Monitoring situation @Heathrow closely—our people must come home safe. Grateful to @UKMaltaHighComm for swift response.” Opposition leader Bernard Grech echoed the sentiment, adding a pointed reminder that “Malta’s connectivity depends on the reliability of hubs like Heathrow; today’s scare underlines why we need stronger contingency agreements.”

Economically, the disruption is no small matter. July is peak season for Maltese guesthouses, boat charters, and band clubs that rely on diaspora spending. “Each delayed traveller represents lost revenue for local vendors,” explained economist Stephanie Falzon. “A single day’s delay can wipe out the profit margin for a family-run kiosk selling nougat and festa souvenirs.”

By 2 p.m., the Metropolitan Police gave the all-clear: a suspicious white powder found in a passenger’s hand luggage turned out to be talcum powder for a baby en route to a baptism in Gozo. Terminal 5 reopened in phases, with check-in resuming at 3:30 p.m. Relief rippled through the departure hall as Maltese passengers clutched their re-issued boarding passes like winning lottery tickets.

Still, the day’s drama serves as a stark reminder of how fragile the umbilical cord between Malta and its diaspora can be. As Maria Vella finally wheeled her suitcase toward security, she laughed: “All this for baby powder? Mela, next time I’ll buy talc in Malta—at least there the biggest hazard is running into my ex at the airport café.”