Frenchman charged for airport scare

A 41-year-old Frenchman, who caused major disruption and evacuation of Britain’s second busiest airport, has been charged with possession of an air rifle and a lock knife — a type of folding blade, authorities said on Sunday.

Jerome Chauris from Vendome, who has no fixed address and is unemployed, has been remanded in police custody and will appear at the Crawley Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

The North Terminal at the Gatwick airport was briefly evacuated on Saturday morning after the Frechman acted suspiciously and discarded an item in a bin at the busy transport hub.

Carrying “dangerous article” to an airport, and carrying a knife in public “without good reason” are illegal in Britain, which is on high-alert following the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night which left over 120 people dead and nearly 300 wounded. Airport authorities had to call in bomb disposal experts to carry out a small controlled explosion as airport passengers and staff were taken to local hotels.