Passenger Airliner Intercepted by Spanish Military Jet Over 'False Bomb Threat'
14:49 GMT 04.07.2022 (Updated: 15:24 GMT 04.07.2022)
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The Civil Guard reportedly conducted a “special operation” involving bomb disposal experts and sniffer dogs, and has already identified and apprehended the person responsible for making the fake “bomb threat.”
Passengers of easyJet flight EZY8303 from Gatwick to the island of Menorca were in for a surprise after their airliner was intercepted by a Spanish F-18 warplane.
According to The Sun, the incident occurred due to a bomb threat allegedly made via social media by one of the passengers, an 18-year-old Briton.
"The Civil Guard has arrested an 18-year-old British national as the alleged author of a crime of public disorder in Mahon in Menorca," a spokesperson for Spain’s Civil Guard said as quoted by the newspaper. "Yesterday, the control tower at Menorca Airport was alerted to a bomb threat on a plane heading from London to the island capital Mahon which was still in the air and nearing the airport."
Upon landing, the airliner was moved to "an area away from the main terminal and other aircraft", and the Civil Guard "organised a special operation which consisted of mobilising bomb disposal experts as well as sniffer dogs and other officers who created a safe perimeter around the plane," the spokesperson said.
"The passengers were disembarked and established protocol followed until police were able to confirm it was a false bomb threat and the person responsible was identified on social media along with five other companions as witnesses," he added. "They were taken to a police station so officers could clarify the situation."
An easyJet representative also confirmed that flight EZY8303 "was escorted by military aircraft while landing in Menorca and delayed disembarking due to precautionary security checks."
A video appearing to depict the intercept has since emerged on social media. In the said video, apparently recorded on board the easyJet aircraft, an F-18 military jet can be seen flying alongside the passenger plane and tipping its wings at it, with The Sun noting that this was the warplane sending a "follow me" signal.
@easyJet #a319 G-EZAO intercepted by Spanish Air Force on way to Menorca. passengers not being allowed to leave yet. @BigJetTVLIVE @BBCNews @SkyNews @SkyNewsBreak pic.twitter.com/MTWkQnU39x
— Ian Leslie ❤️🇺🇦❤️ (@iandrleslie) July 3, 2022
