Edinburgh Airport has re-opened after the terminal was evacuated for a time this morning.

Access roads were closed and the terminal cleared after operator BAA said they were dealing with an "ongoing incident".

It is understood the discovery of a suspect package was behind the alert.

The alarm was raised at 11.30am and an army bomb squad were called to investigate.

However at 12.30pm it was announced that the incident was over and the airport was re-opening.

A spokesman for the airport announced: "Our incident has been stood down.

"We are now re-opening the terminal. Thank you for your patience.

"The roads on approach to the airport have now been re-opened."

AT THE once-bustling regional airport in Japan's Sendai city, a lone figure walks across a bridge inside the gutted terminal. Small planes jut out at awkward angles from the thick mud.

The devastation is absolute, revealing the utter force of the massive wall of water that struck Japan's north-east Pacific coast on Friday, following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake - one of the biggest ever recorded.

Clusters of beachfront houses were flattened and smashed into airport buildings - the modest wooden structures turned into flotsam in an instant after the twin natural disasters.

'We were expecting a major earthquake on the coast here and had put plans in place to protect lives, but the level of this calamity is beyond what we planned for,' says Sendai mayor Emiko Okuyama.

'It is extremely painful for me.' As far as the eye can see, the machinery of modern life has been crumpled nearly beyond recognition.

Cars were thrown everywhere, crushed by the swirling waves and then stuck incongruously into the few remaining structures, or balanced on top of huge piles of wooden debris that were once houses.

American Airlines Inc. said Monday it has launched a private offering of $1 billion in senior secured notes.

The notes are expected to be secured by certain of the company's route authorities, airport landing and take-off slots and rights to use or occupy space in airport terminals. Proceeds from the offering of the notes are expected to be used for general corporate purposes.

American Airlines is operated by parent company AMR Corp.

One man faces a mischief charge after two men were arrested when a suspicious object was found in their luggage early Thursday at Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

The men, age 43 and 73, were making their way through a security checkpoint in the international departures area around 5 a.m. when a suspicious object was spotted in one of their bags.

According to Montreal police constable Anie Lemieux, the object "resembled an explosive device," and police were immediately called in as a precaution.

The object turned out to be harmless.

The airport was not evacuated, but some international flights were delayed.

The older man was released, but the 43-year-old will be charged with mischief, Montreal police Constable Olivier Lapointe reported.