A senior RUC officer has condemned the "madness" of those responsible for leaving a primed car-bomb at Belfast International Airport yesterday.
Had the 20kg device exploded, scores of people could have been killed or injured, Chief Insp Graham Shields said.
The home-made bomb was found in a Volvo fitted with false number plates left in the main car-park, opposite the terminal building.
The "Real IRA" claimed responsibility for the bomb in a warning phoned to a Belfast priest.
An earlier warning to a Belfast newspaper at 5 a.m. led to an initial search of the airport by security forces but the information given was vague and the search proved fruitless, Insp Shields said.
"Following further reports, a search of the thousands of cars both inside and outside the airport boundaries was commenced, but it was only after further police inquiry that information was received pinpointing the car containing the bomb."
Army technical officers carried out two controlled explosions on the car.
Apart from a slight delay on a flight to Liverpool, all of yesterday's flights went ahead as scheduled, though part of the main car-park was sealed off during the alert.
The South Antrim MP, Mr David Burnside, whose constituency includes the airport at Aldergrove, said the attack underscored the need for decommissioning.
"It proves once again that there are illegal explosives and guns within Northern Ireland society, which means decommissioning is absolutely essential and paramount."
Police confirmed that the silver Volvo estate car involved had been stolen in east Belfast on June 21st.