London City Airport
London City Airport airport was evacuated after a fire alarm was accidentally triggered. @christophewuyts

Dozens of passengers and staff at London City Airport were forced to wait next to the runway after a fire alarm was accidently triggered.

Suited businessmen and women stood alongside staff in high-vis vests near British Airways planes after the airport's fire alarm was triggered at approximately 2.45pm.

Passnagers can be seen on their phones in photos taken from the scene and uploaded onto Twitter.

However, airport staff soon established that it had been a flase alarm and passengers were soon allowed to return to the airport's main building.

Flights to Frankfurt, Geneva and Rotterdam that were scheduled to depart at around the same time the alarm went off did so on time.

A London City Airport spokeswoman said the "minor" incident lasted 15 minutes and said flights had been unaffected.