Heathrow flight lands safely after bomb threat hoax

A LOT Polish Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Warsaw landed safely on Tuesday after a bomb threat prompted its diversion. The UK Government has since stated that such threats are 'malicious hoax threats'.

The flight, carrying 181 people, was rerouted to Warsaw Modlin Airport shortly after departing Heathrow. Airport officials confirmed a bomb threat alert was raised at 9.54am. The aircraft landed safely seven minutes later, and the threat was officially cancelled at 12.21pm. Emergency services responded to the incident, leading to a temporary shutdown of the airport. Following border control checks, passengers were transferred to Warsaw Chopin Airport by coach. A spokesperson for LOT Polish Airlines confirmed that no suspicious items were found during the aircraft's security inspection.

Government response to threats

A Government spokesperson commented on the incidents involving UK departures, stating: "The UK has one of the most robust aviation security systems in the world, with well-tested processes for dealing with any potential threats, as well as malicious hoax threats, like those we've seen today. Our world-leading police and intelligence agencies work closely every day to keep us safe, using the tools they have to assess and respond to potential threats."

Similar incident from Manchester

In a separate but similar incident, a passenger aircraft travelling from Manchester to Murcia in south-east Spain also landed safely after receiving a bomb threat. Spanish authorities confirmed that 114 passengers and seven crew members disembarked the aircraft while a security sweep was conducted. The Guardia Civil subsequently ruled out the presence of explosives following the inspection, and the airport resumed normal operations.

These incidents were part of a wider series of similar threats affecting flights across Europe on Tuesday. Reports indicate that five additional flights received comparable threats, including services from Copenhagen to Warsaw, and Bergamo to Sofia. Two Ryanair services, one from Lisbon and another from Dublin, were also inspected in Rome. Bulgarian transport minister Georgi Peev confirmed that two aircraft bound for Sofia, one from Bergamo and another from Dublin, received bomb threats, though neither flight was diverted and no devices were found.

The events followed a bomb threat on Monday that forced a Wizz Air flight from Luton Airport to Sofia to divert to Budapest. A Hungarian fighter jet was deployed in response to ensure that passenger aircraft landed safely in Budapest.