Biodun.BBC: BREAKING AND UPDATE: Schiphol airport: Dutch police probing 'suspicious situation' on plane

by Elodie Bagnol and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Amsterdam

Dutch police say they are investigating a "suspicious situation" on board a plane at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

Images posted on social media showed parts of the airport's D-pier cordoned off to the public. Flights are still landing at other parts of the airport.

An hour after the first reports, police said the passengers and crew were now safely off the aircraft.

The nature of the incident has not been confirmed and police say the investigation is ongoing.

The incident was described as a GRIP-3 situation, Dutch officials said, meaning an incident or serious event with major consequences to a local population.

One journalist at the scene tweeted images showing emergency vehicles on the airport's tarmac.

Other photographs showed passengers caught up in the disruption waiting around the terminal area awaiting further information.

Schiphol is one of the busiest transport hubs in Europe, handling more than 70 million passengers a year.