British passengers were forced to evacuate a TUI flight yesterday after a bomb threat was found on board.
Cabin crew members found the threatening note inside the toilet on the jet as it flew from Cardiff to the Canary Islands on Thursday morning.
They handed the note to the pilots, who then quickly diverted the Flight BY6422 to César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport in Lanzarote.
Once the plane landed, passengers were rushed off and bomb specialists were called to investigate.
No explosive devices were found and the bomb squad confirmed it was a false alarm while four departures at the airport were delayed.
Passengers were told to identify their luggage when they got off the plane, according to the Canarian Weekly.
Two F-16M jets from Air Base number 5 in Monte Real were also deployed as the note was found while the plane was flying over Portugal, the Portuguese Air Force said in a statement.
Air traffic controllers posted on X: ‘The plane has been guided with the presence of firefighters to a siding where the passengers have had to identify their luggage.
‘Landing and takeoff operations have been temporarily interrupted, which has caused some delays.’
A spokesperson for the Portuguese military said: ‘With the F-16Ms already monitoring the situation to ensure the safety and good management of national airspace, the crew of the civilian aircraft decided to continue the flight to the destination airport, outside national territory.
‘Upon leaving the national flight information region, responsibility passed to Spain, with the Portuguese F-16Ms carrying out the handover of the mission and subsequent return to Monte Real.’
Authorities are now investigating the incident to find out what happened on the plane.
TUI has been contacted for comment by Metro.
In a separate incident, a Ryanair flight crashed into a barrier shortly after landing Kalamata International Airport.
The Boeing 737 had landed at the airport on Wednesday morning from London Stansted Airport.
Passengers on flight FR6080 reportedly endured ‘severe turbulence’ during the three-and-a-half-hour flight.
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