All flights suspended at Glasgow Airport ‘after note found on plane’
A message found written in an aircraft sparked a security alert that temporarily grounded all flights at Glasgow Airport.
Security personnel made the decision after crew on board Easyjet flight EZY883 from Gatwick raised the alarm at about 10:25am yesterday.
Thescotsmanunderstandsa note found to have been written within the plane during the flight prompted the pilot to contact the authorities.
Passengers were later asked by police if they had used the toilets during the flight.
There were around 140 passengers on board, who said they had to wait an hour before leaving the plane.
They were then interviewed by police in the airport terminal, but last night the culprit was still being sought.
Easyjet said passengers were delayed disembarking on arrival as a precaution “due to additional security checks”. The airport’s runway was out of action for around 22 minutes, but reopened at 10:55am, with two flights delayed.
The incident was stood down as soon as emergency services arrived on board the plane.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “All the passengers and crew disembarked and the aircraft was searched following a security alert reported by the crew.
“There was a negative result and nothing was found.
“All passengers were spoken to by officers and able to continue their journeys.
“The circumstances surrounding the nature of the security alert will continue to be investigated.”
A spokesperson for Easyjet said: “Easyjet can confirm that passengers on flight EZY883 from London Gatwick to Glasgow were delayed disembarking on arrival in Glasgow, purely as a precaution, due to additional security checks.
“The passengers have been disembarked and taken into the terminal.
“The safety and security of its passengers and crew is always Easyjet’s highest priority and we would like to thank passengers for their understanding.”
One of the passengers, Kevin Mccann, tweeted: “Just landed in Glasgow, been stuck on the runway for almost an hour and now looks like someone has a police welcome party waiting for them when they disembark. Very strange.
“Flight seemed normal up to the point we were held on the runway. Then police came on and said there has been an incident.”
Fellow passenger James Gale said they had not been made aware of any incident until after landing.
A Glasgow Airport spokesman said: “The incident was assessed following established procedures after which we were able to open.”