Bristol flight in mid-air bomb scare
An airliner flying from Bristol to Cyprus had to make an emergency landing after a bomb alert.
One hour into Sunday’s flight, which left Bristol International Airport at 11am, the Eurocypria flight was diverted to London’s Stansted airport.
Essex Police say they received information from the crew that there was a potential threat to passengers on board the flight, although they would not release details about the nature of the threat.
One passenger told of the plane being surrounded by police as first the baggage, then the passengers were unloaded.
There was eventually found to be no cause for concern, but the journey did not continue until 5pm, a delay of six hours, after which the plane flew to Crete.
Passengers were forced to stay there overnight before another flight took them to their destination in Cyprus the following morning.
Katie Pearce, 26, from Fishponds, was on board the flight with her 13-month-old daughter Kodie.
She called home shortly after the flight stopped at Stansted to tell her family what was going on.
Her father Richard, 53, from Mangotsfield, said: “Obviously she was really worried at first because they had been in the air for an hour when the concern started and they were quite a way away from the terminal.
“It seems like everything is OK now, but it was a very concerning at first and a bad start to a holiday.
“The fact that they had to spend a night in another destination is far from ideal as well.”
No one from Eurocypria was available for comment yesterday.
A spokesman for Essex Police said: “Essex Police received information from the crew of an aircraft that there was a potential threat to passengers on board a flight which was from Bristol.
“The Eurocypria flight landed shortly after 1pm on Sunday, September 21, at Stansted Airport, with the airline taking the decision to land the aircraft.
“Passengers and crew were met by officers and security staff.
“It was soon established that there was no validity in the threat. Following a delay due to security measures, the passengers were able to continue with their onward journey.”
8 Comments
by Helen, weston super mare
Friday, October 10 2008, 8:58AM
“Yes the ordeal was frightening and yes we we're treated a bit like a herd of sheep but people were doing their jobs and were preventing a possible massacre. I was on this flight and there was a lack of information. The stay in crete was awful no food available and a very expensive bar, we were all in different hotels, sum 5 star some not even 2 star! why did some people get food and drink provided? and others left to find food around the streets of a foreign country? poor communication I feel. But however when finally landing in cyprus a laugh and joke was had and a jolly good holiday after 25 Hours! (could have been in Austrailia by then)”
by Alex, Bristol
Sunday, September 28 2008, 10:10PM
“I was on this flight with two friends and it was a complete nightmare. We were left on the plane for 3/4 of an hour with armed Police surrounding us not knowing what was going on. We were then dumped in Hangar 4 for a while before being moved to 'somewhere more comfortable' - this was a complete laugh. Two toilets and one bottle of water between 180 passengers. We were en-route to Crete when we were told we'd have to stay there for the night. The Euro Cypriot Rep at Crete was awful. She marched off and left us when we didn't know where we were going. We were shoved on coaches not knowing where we were going and dumped in a road without the rep telling us where we were staying. It certainly wasn't a 5 Star Hotel. I'm outraged at the treatment I have received from this company and will never consider travelling with them again. The flight crew were lovely and very understanding but not even this will make me book another flight with them.”
by Louise, Cardiff
Sunday, September 28 2008, 4:02PM
“My family and myself were aboard this flight on 21/09/08 it was a terifying experiance especially when the cabin crew dont inform you of what is happening. Someones practical joke (a stupid prank) was a nightmare for all passengers on this plane.”
by Wayne, Longwell Green
Sunday, September 28 2008, 12:46PM
“I was on that very flight with my girlfriend, just got home. Basically, a message was found in an in-flight magazine saying a bomb was on board. I don't think any airline on the planet has the time or resource to go through every page of every magazine in every seat looking for this kind of thing as a pre-flight check. Although a bit scary with a very fast landing (the Boeing 737-800 handles like a fighter plane!) the airline did a top notch job, the Police at Stansted were fantastic and although the article says a 6 hour delay it was only 2. The stop over in Crete was in a 5* hotel so although a nuisance, we couldn't really complain. The airline did all the right things, said all the right things and people need to remember that at the end of the day, this could be a much different article about something much worse. On a better note, Cyprus is a very nice place and the temperature was well up there in the 50's, would recommend the island and EuroCypria to anyone”
by Graeme, Knowle
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 9:07PM
“It's the well known pre-flight checks of 'engines? check. wings? check. any bombs under seats? check.”
by MendipMan, Wurzel Country
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 6:24PM
“So what pre-flight checks would those be then? As we don't know the details of the threat how can you say that pre-flight checks (whatever they may be) would have prevented this occurrence.?A common method for idiots to disrupt flights is for a passenger to leave a note somewhere on the aircraft. So unless your pre-flight checks include the removal from all passengers of all materials with which a note could be written the idea would not achieve much.It is true that crew members and passengers and their baggage are subject to security searches prior to boarding but again these can never be foolproof because human beings are involved. Stansted is the recognised UK airport for dealing with terror-related incidents on aircraft (whether geuine or the figment of a moron's warped mind). It seems from all reports (the Post is two days late in reporting this - it appeared on aviation websites such as PPRuNe on Sunday) that the matter was dealt with according to the book.”
by Anne, Bristol
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 4:41PM
“If they had proper pre-flight checks this wouldn't happen. Someone is not doing their job properly and should be sacked.”
by Barnaby Farquhar, Clifton
Tuesday, September 23 2008, 3:24PM
“Come on BEP, is this actually news or not?
The headline states that it was a bomb scare, but this is contradicted elsewhere in the article. A potential threat which is not elaborated on is not the same as a bomb scare.
It was sounding promising as a real story for a while as well!”