LONDON - Police evacuated the main terminal at Manchester Airport after bomb disposal experts were called to check a suspicious package on Wednesday.

Greater Manchester Police said they were questioning a man under anti-terrorism laws.

"We were alerted to a suspicious device and as a precaution have evacuated Terminal 1," said Superintendent Phil Davies in a statement. "I must stress that at this time the item is being treated as a suspicious device and nothing more."

The airport's operators said 11 flights leaving Terminal 1 would be affected this morning. Incoming flights are operating normally and the airport's two other terminals remained open.

Police found the suspicious bag at the main security search area inside the terminal.

"An evacuation is a standard precautionary measure while the investigation is completed to ensure the safety of our passengers and staff," the airport statement said.

Manchester Airport is Britain's fourth biggest and handles around 20 million passengers each year.

Britain's security services lowered the threat level of an international attack by one notch in July to "substantial" from "severe", meaning an attack is seen as a strong possibility.

A separate threat level for Northern Ireland-related attacks remains at "severe", the second highest category.