Armed police storm grounded flight at Midlands airport in bomb scare
Armed police stormed a grounded Jet2 aircraft after a man on the flight claimed he was in possession of an explosive device.
Emergency services rushed to the scene of East Midlands Airport yesterday afternoon over claims of an explosive device being discovered on board.
Following a search, police confirmed that no bomb was found on the flight, saying that the threat was not "viable". A man was arrested and later bailed.
Leicestershire Police said: "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."
The aircraft was allowed to take off for its flight to Turkey following the incident.
The spokesperson added: "Following instruction, the man safely left the aircraft where he was arrested on suspicion of possession of an explosive substance.
"Following the arrest, the aircraft has been fully searched. No explosive device has been found on-board and there is no suggestion that the threat made is viable. The man arrested has since been released on bail and our enquiries remain ongoing."
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: "We can confirm that flight LS653 from East Midlands to Antalya returned to stand yesterday evening so that police could offload a disruptive passenger.
"The flight departed after the passenger was offloaded, and we would like to apologise to everyone onboard for any inconvenience or upset caused by this unforeseen incident."
