• A man rammed a car through a terminal building then sped through a field onto the runway at Lyon’s Saint-Exupéry international airport.
  • He then fled the car and ran along the runway as multiple police cars chased him, as caught on video.
  • He was later detained. The motive is not yet known.
  • Flights at the airport were grounded.

Flights at an international airport in Lyon, France, have been grounded after a man rammed a car into the terminal building the sped onto the runway, before eventually being detained.

Video posted to social media and broadcast on French TV shows the closing moments of a dramatic chase scene, where a white car speeds past the runway, with police in pursuit.

The suspect then abandons the car, and is surrounded by officers, who later arrested him.

According to the Lyon local government, cited by the Associated Press, the male driver first drove the wrong way down a highway and crashed into a barrier at a small aerodrome.

He then headed toward Lyon's Saint-Exupéry international airport, before ramming the car through two glass doors and through a terminal building, Reuters reported, citing police and law-enforcement sources.

The driver the sped on to the runway, government spokeswoman Christelle Monteagudo told the Associated Press.

lyon airport white car

Foto: A white car can be seen speeding through a field toward the runway at Lyon's Saint-Exupéry international airport on Monday.sourceDavidPeste/Twitter

The driver, dressed in dark clothing, then abandoned the car and fled on foot.

Multiple police officers, police cars, and a helicopter chased him before ultimately detaining him, Reuters reported, citing police.

The video below, posted by French channel BFMTV, showed footage of a white car driving toward the airport's glass doors, and of the unhinged doors after the crash.

A witness told BFMTV they heard a "loud thud" after the car went into the automatic door at the terminal.

The suspect's motives are not known at this point, the Associated Press cited Monteagudo as saying.

Lyon airport stock photo 2011

Foto: A stock photograph shows Lyon-Saint Exupery airport in December 2011, during a strike by airport security personnel.sourceAP

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