Flour, Cinnamon 'Bomb' Shuts Down Airport
An unattended suitcase that shut down Düsseldorf Airport for hours last week turned out not to be a bomb or drugs or anything dangerous after all, just a whole lot of baking supplies.
According to The Local, authorities first noticed a suitcase with an image of Big Ben on it sitting unattended in the departure lounge Tuesday and shut down the airport for fear it might contain a bomb. 140 flights were cancelled and more than 10,000 passengers were affected.
Airport authorities quickly figured out the case did not have any explosives in it, at which point everyone was convinced it was probably full of drugs, especially when it appeared to be full of nothing but white powder. But after extensive testing, police found the suitcase was full of three large bags of flour, corn flour, and cinnamon weighing 20 pounds in total. There was also an iPhone power cord and a towel.
Police say it remains unclear why anyone would be carrying so much flour in their suitcase, but perhaps the owner was traveling to a cooking event or is just a really enthusiastic baker.
The bag's owner will not be charged with anything, as no crime was actually committed.
"Carrying food is not forbidden," a state security expert said.