Two Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets escorted a Jet2 Airbus A321 to London Stansted after a bomb threat was made against the flight.
Bomb Threat Prompts RAF Escort, A321 Diversion To London, And Passenger Griping…
LS922 departed from Dalaman, Turkey (DLM) for Manchester (MAN) on time at 6:55 pm on October 12, 2022. It was due to arrive in Manchester at 9:40 pm.
However, as the aircraft crossed the English Channel, RAF jets were scrambled and the flight was diverted to London Stansted (STN), landing at 9:20 pm.
The aircraft parked at a remote stand, where law enforcement officers carefully searched the plane before determining there was no bomb onboard. Passengers were apparently kept onboard during much of the search.
It is not clear if the bomb threat was phoned in or made by a disturbed passenger onboard.
Essex Police (yes, London Stansted Airport is in Essex, not London) issued the following statement:
“Shortly before 9:00 pm, we received a report of a potential threat on board the flight. It was escorted to Stansted Airport, where it landed safely and was parked away from the main passenger terminal.
“The runway was closed for a short time while enquiries were carried out. Officers were then able to establish there was no threat on board. Onward travel was then organised for the passengers and the runway was re-opened.”
However, passenger Paul Bible complained that “onward travel” included taxis from STN Airport to Manchester rather than a hotel room:
@jet2tweets absolutely shocking service on flight LS922 from Dalaman to Manchester. Not looking after the wellbeing of my 6month child after delays. No hotels, expecting us to travel from London in a taxi with a baby that has no access to welfare facilities is beyond belief.
— Paul Bible (@PaulBible9) October 13, 2022
Perhaps he’s never heard of a motorway service area or petrol station?
Jet2 also failed to offer any more insight on the source of the bomb scare:
“We can confirm that flight LS922 DLM to MAN diverted to London Stansted this evening under the direction of UK Air Traffic Control.
“The aircraft has landed safely & has taxied to a remote stand. We are currently liaising with London Stansted Airport & the relevant authorities.”
The runway at STN Airport briefly closed but has now reopened.
CONCLUSION
Bomb threats are always difficult. Most times, there is no real threat, but out of an abundance of caution, it is impossible simply to ignore them. Here, it is not like Jet2 chose to divert to Stansted. It is for that reason (unless flight attendants liquored up a passenger, who then made the threat onboard under the influence of alcohol), I don’t think passengers could have asked for much more than a taxi home from STN (a journey of just over 200 miles).
image: RAF
Grumpy when you should be grateful Mr. Bible. Appears Mr. Bible should learn the baby is his to” look out for”. And count your blessings
That’s a lot of taxis to organize that late at night to go long-distance. Must have cost a lot. Surprised they just didn’t fly the remaining distance unless the crew had timed out.
I’m always annoyed when people feel that they deserve special care or are smarter simply because they spawned a child. Paul Bible, I’m talking about you, bruh.
‘Won’t you think of the children.’