An intruder sparked a security alert at Heathrow after scaling a perimeter fence and locking himself inside the cockpit of a passenger jet.
According to reports the man made it to the British Airways engineering base at Hatton Cross, where the empty 747 aircraft was parked. He was spotted climbing into the plane and fled to the flight deck, an airport source said. He was said to have slammed the high- security cockpit doors, locking himself into the pilots’ seating area.
Security staff were apparently unable to get him out of the cockpit because of the strength of the bomb-proof and bullet-proof doors, which are designed to protect the pilot and co-pilot from an attempted terrorist attack.
He was taken off the plane after the airport’s fire service was called and managed to open the door for police.
There was criticism about security at Heathrow last summer when environmental activists managed to chain themselves to the north runway as part of a protest over plans to expand the airport.
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The source said: “It was a very difficult and complex situation and in the end the fire brigade had to be called to the plane and carried out a long and very protracted operation to get into the cockpit.”
He added: “It is a terrifying situation when you think about it. Here is a man who not only has managed to go air-side at one of the world’s busiest airports but he has successfully got to a Boeing 747 jet liner and found it open and was able to climb aboard.
“Then he got on to the flight deck and barricaded himself in using the plane’s own anti-terrorist equipment.”
Police confirmed that there had been an incident on an plane but said that it was not believed to be terrorist-related. They said that a 38-year-old man had been arrested and was being held in custody at a West London police station. He was expected to appear in court “at the earliest opportunity”.
It is understood that the detained man was Louis Pedro Verdasca dos Santos Costa, a Portuguese national from Hounslow. He was charged with unlawfully being on an aircraft.
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A police spokesman added: “He has been remanded into custody at a west London police station and will appear at court at the earliest opportunity.”
A Heathrow spokeswoman said: “Individuals illegally entering the airside environment potentially endanger their own lives and those of others. We are working with police following [the] incident.”
BA declined to comment.