An Isle of Man Airport passenger has described the scenes following a security incident on Friday as ‘utter chaos’, after travellers were ordered to leave the departure area and go through screening again.

The passenger, who was travelling on the Liverpool service, said their flight eventually departed at 4.20pm, around 50 minutes late.

They told Media Isle of Man that, based on conversations with other passengers, the incident appeared to involve an individual being asked to stand aside for a swab test during security screening.

The passenger said the individual either did not hear the request or walked away, and was not stopped before entering the departure area.

They said they had also heard the individual was initially denied boarding before the decision was made for everyone to leave the departure area.

However, these details have not been confirmed by the airport.

The traveller said the passengers were not given a clear explanation for why they were being evacuated, with rumours subsequently circulating among those waiting.

‘At the time we were told to evacuate was not made clear, just we all had to leave,’ they said.

‘Then rumours circulated.’

Passengers were subsequently required to go through security screening again, with the traveller describing the process as ‘utter chaos’.

They said some bags were stopped which had not been stopped during the initial screening, while others which had previously been stopped went through without being stopped the second time.

The airport said the incident happened at approximately 2.45pm and involved an individual.

In a statement on Friday, it said: ‘At approximately 14.45 there was a short security incident involving an individual. The matter has now been resolved.

‘As a precaution, all passengers have had to be re-screened, which will result in some delays to departures.

‘We apologise for the disruption and thank passengers for their patience.’