Johannesburg's O.R. Tambo airport, Africa's largest, was evacuated on Monday and passengers forced to wait for two hours to return after South African officials identified a suspect bag. Images of the deserted terminal were posted to social media while other photographs showed crowds of passengers waiting on roadways for the all-clear to return inside.

The airport's international arrivals hall was evacuated around 0915 GMT after the errant baggage was spotted and airport users were unable to re-enter until after 1115 GMT, airport spokeswoman Leigh Gunkel-Keuler told AFP. "To ensure the safety of passengers and customers in the airport terminal building, people were evacuated from the area," she added in a statement.

The incident caused delays to several flights although the airport had largely returned to normal operation, she added.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018