An 18-year-old British tourist could be fined more than £50,000 for allegedly making a ‘false bomb threat’ on board an EasyJet flight to Menorca.
A Spanish fighter jet was scrambled to escort the plane when the threat was seen on social media as it approached the island on Sunday afternoon.
Footage filmed from inside the cabin shows the jet tipping its wings – telling the EasyJet pilot to ‘follow me’ – while a passenger nervously asks: ‘Why is it doing that?’
After landing, the plane was towed to a special area away from the terminal and other aircraft, local police said.
Passengers were then escorted off the plan before bomb disposal experts and sniffer dogs combed through the cabin and confirmed the threat was a hoax.
But they weren’t allowed to leave for up to four hours while police figured out who made the threat.
A spokesperson for the Spanish Civil Guard said: ‘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’.
The suspect was said to have been ‘identified on social media along with five other companions as witnesses’.
@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
The spokesperson added: ‘They were taken to a police station so officers could clarify the situation.’
The teenager is believed to have been travelling to Menorca with a group of friends for a celebration holiday.
He is expected to have to foot the bill of the police operation and the scrambling of the military jet.
Aviation expert Julian Bray said the military’s costs alone could be ‘anything over £50,000, possibly more’.
He told The Sun: ‘Plus, EasyJet could take civil action, so it could be very hefty.
‘They will look for reparations for the cost of investigating the plane, the time spend on the ground, checking all luggage, scrambling a new crew and pilot and subsequent delayed flights.’
Local police did not immediately clarify the nature of the suspected ‘public disorder’ offence.
The plane landed around 30 minutes late and reportedly caused a two-and-a-half hour delay to a Ryanair flight back to London.
Additional reporting from Natalia Penza
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Source: Read Full Article
