Bristol Airport flights were diverted following the evacuation

TUI flights from Santorini and Skiathos and easyJet flights from Inverness, Lanzarote and Marrakech were diverted due to the false alarm.

A Ryanair flight from Gran Canaria was the sixth to be diverted during the incident.

A Bristol Airport spokesman said staff were working with airlines to return passengers from diverted flights.

They added: “Our airport control tower was evacuated earlier this afternoon.

“Upon investigation, this was found to be a false alarm, but we have temporarily suspended airport operations as a precaution.

“We apologize for the disruption caused to passengers.”