A TERMINAL building at Manchester Airport was closed for more than three hours today due to a security scare.

Passengers and staff were evacuated from Terminal 1 at 8.20am after a suspect package was detected during a X-ray check in the main outbound security zone.

Bomb disposal officers were called to the airport and later determined the package was harmless.

Police said they found it was a phone charger next to a bottle of liquid which had 'taken on the appearance of something much more sinister' on the x-ray.

The building has now reopened.

Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police has released the image which prompted the evacuation to encourage passengers to remember the liquid restrictions that remain in place for cabin baggage.

Superintendent Dave Hull said: "Security officers were absolutely right to raise their concerns about the image.

"While thankfully there was no risk to the public, we needed to carry out thorough inquiries to be absolutely sure this was the case.

"We will always take action which safeguards public safety. However when the terminal was evacuated we also had to act swiftly to try and minimise disruption.

"This incident shows how important it is for passengers to follow the rules when taking their hand luggage through security. Had the liquids been taken out, this incident would not have taken place.

"As you can see from the picture, a phone charger next to a bottle of liquid takes on the appearance of something much more sinister."

Officers spoke to the 30-year-old man who owns the package but no offences have been committed.

Manchester Airport's Managing Director, Andrew Harrison, said: "Although an investigation by specialists from Greater Manchester Police confirmed that the bag was not a threat, we would like to pay tribute to our highly trained security staff. They view millions of x-ray images but any suspicious items have to be taken seriously to ensure the safety of our passengers and staff as was the case today."