Armed police officers have escorted a passenger off a Jet2 flight at East Midlands Airport following a bomb alert.
An alarm was raised yesterday evening, Monday 21 August, at the East Midlands Airport (EMA) at approximately 17:15 BST following a report of a man claiming that he had an explosive device.
Jet2 flight LS653 East Midlands – Antalya
The Jet2 flight at the centre of the bomb scare was scheduled to depart the British midlands airport for Antalya, Turkey at 16:45 BST, and was subsequently delayed for some hours as a result of the police response.
Acting on the alert, armed officers boarded the aircraft and removed the suspect passenger.
According to BBC News, a 49-year-old male passenger was subsequently detained and arrested under suspicion of possessing an explosive substance. The subsequent search revealed no trace of a dangerous item, and the passenger in question was subsequently released on bail pending inquiries.
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A spokesperson for the airport stated: “At 5.16pm today (Monday), police were informed of a report of a male aboard an aircraft at East Midlands Airport who stated he was in possession of an explosive device.
“The aircraft was on the ground at the time of the incident. Officers worked with airport staff and with the aircraft crew to provide an immediate response to the report.”
“In the interests of public and officer safety, armed officers were also deployed to the area of the aircraft. Following instruction, the man safely left the aircraft where he was arrested.”
Jet2 Confirmation
The airport spokesman confirmed that the aircraft was then thoroughly searched and no trace of an explosive device was discovered on board.
Flight data shows that the scheduled flight in question subsequently departed for Antalya, Turkey at the delayed time of 20:08 BST Monday evening.
According to the local news source DerbyshireLive, the spokesman for the airline Jet2 subsequently stated: “We can confirm that flight LS653 from East Midlands to Antalya returned to stand earlier this evening so police could offload a disruptive passenger.”
“The flight has now departed, and we would like to apologise to everyone onboard for any inconvenience or upset caused by this unforeseen incident.”
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