London Jewish pupils caught up in bomb scare on flight to Poland
Teenagers were among 181 passengers evacuated after their plane from Heathrow was diverted following a bomb threat
Pupils from a London Jewish school travelling to Poland on a school trip were caught up in a bomb scare on Tuesday after their flight from Heathrow to Warsaw was diverted to another airport.
The teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were among 181 people aboard the LOT Polish Airlines flight, which landed at Warsaw-Modlin Airport following the threat.
Some of the Jewish pupils are Israelis living in London, according to Israeli news outlet Ynet.
Passengers were evacuated without their belongings while security teams began searching the aircraft and luggage.
The mother of one of the students told Ynet: “The plane landed at an airport near Warsaw. They took the passengers off without their belongings and brought them in for security screening.”
She said passengers were expected to continue their journey to Warsaw by bus.
Flight LO286 had departed Heathrow on Tuesday morning and was due to land at Warsaw Chopin Airport.
According to Modlin Airport, the bomb threat was received at 9.54am local time, just seven minutes before the Boeing 737 MAX landed at 10.01am.
The aircraft was moved to a separate area for security checks, while the airport was temporarily closed.
The airport later reopened, although no results from the searches have been announced.
The incident was one of six suspected bomb scares involving European flights on Tuesday.
A Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw also received a bomb threat but landed safely at Chopin Airport, where passengers disembarked.
Meanwhile, a Ryanair flight carrying 114 passengers and seven crew members from Manchester landed safely in Murcia, Spain, following another warning.
Spanish authorities later confirmed that no explosives had been found on board, allowing the airport to resume normal operations.
A fourth threat involved a flight from Israel that landed in Sofia, Bulgaria, where counter-terrorism officers began searching the aircraft after a bomb warning was reportedly received by email.
Two further Ryanair flights arriving in Rome from Dublin and Lisbon were also searched following anonymous bomb threats, according to the BBC.
Police and bomb disposal teams inspected the aircraft, passengers and luggage, but found no explosives. The flight from Dublin was escorted by the Italian Air Force before landing.
The incidents came a day after a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was diverted to Budapest following a bomb threat. A Hungarian fighter jet escorted the aircraft, but no explosives were found.
No group has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s threats, and authorities have not confirmed whether the incidents are linked.
Jewish News has contacted the London Jewish school for comment.