Simon Hunter
EMERGENCY protocols were put into action on Tuesday at Barcelona’s El Prat airport after a possible leak of radioactive material was detected on a Swiss Airlines flight.
Part of the Terminal 1 at the airport was cordoned off due to the alert, as the Aerocat plan for aeronautical emergencies and the Radcat plan for radioactive emergencies were both put into action.
The spillage was reportedly from a medical product that was stored in the hold of the aircraft, which had arrived in Barcelona from Zurich.
Five airport workers were taken to a medical centre for checks, according to Catalan publication El Nacional, while other passengers were confined to the plane to avoid any contact with the material.
A total of 13 fire crews were on the scene, according to online daily 20 minutos, and were carrying out checks and taking readings.
Sources from Spain’s airports operator Aena and from Civil Protection said that any risk from the radioactive material was low.
The Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport, to give the installation its full name, is the second-largest and second-busiest in Spain after Madrid-Barajas.
