A Ryanair flight into Dublin has been forced to make an emergency landing in London after a bomb threat was found on board.
Ryanair said a note was found in one of the plane toilets claiming there were explosives on board.
The plane put out a distress call at around 6pm and was escorted to London by two RAF Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets.
The plane landed safely and the aircraft and passengers are now being checked out by UK police who will decide whether they can travel on to Dublin.
We have now safely brought off all the passengers from the plane.
The plane remains in an isolated area at Stansted and our enquiries are ongoing. https://t.co/CvwobFs6HA
— Essex Police (@EssexPoliceUK) July 13, 2020
In a statement, Ryanair said: “A Ryanair flight from Krakow to Dublin this evening discovered a note in one of the toilets claiming that there were explosives on board.”
“The captain followed procedure by alerting the UK authorities and diverted to the nearest airport (Stansted) where the plane landed normally but was taxied to a remote stand where passengers disembarked safely.
“The aircraft and passengers are being checked by the UK police who will decide when they may travel onwards to Dublin on a spare aircraft.
“Passengers in Dublin waiting to depart to Krakow are being transferred to a spare aircraft to minimise any delay to their flight.”
The airline has apologised for the delay and any inconvenience caused.
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the UK Royal Air Force said: “Typhoon fighter aircraft from RAF Coningsby were launched this evening to intercept a civilian aircraft. The aircraft was escorted safely to Stansted and our aircraft have returned to base.”
