Armed police storm plane at UK airport and take off man after reports of 'explosive device'

A man was arrested and removed from a plane by armed police for 'suspicion of possession of an explosive substance'.

Armed police responded to a report of a man on board a Jet2 plane at East Midlands Airport which had been due to fly to Antalya, Turkey.

The plane had been scheduled to depart the airport at 4:45pm but it was delayed and police were called to the scene.

Footage of the incident taken by another passenger shows armed police on board the plane ordering a man to put his hands up and walk towards them.

His wife then approached the officers to speak with them and a total of three people left the plane.

The passenger's video showed the man out on the runway by police cars while a sniffer dog was brought on board to search for traces of explosives.

Police searched the plane but found no trace of explosives and nothing to suggest that the report of an explosive device was 'viable'.

Philip Lowe via Storyful

The flight eventually departed for its intended destination at 8:18pm and arrived in Turkey without further incident.

The man who was arrested and taken off the plane has since been released on bail.

A spokesperson for Jet2 told LADbible: "We can confirm that flight LS653 from East Midlands to Antalya returned to stand so police could offload a disruptive passenger.

"The flight has now departed, and we would like to apologise to everyone onboard for any inconvenience or upset caused by this unforeseen incident."

Leicestershire police released a statement on the incident saying that at 5.16pm on 21 August they had been 'informed of a report of a male aboard an aircraft at East Midlands Airport who stated he was in possession of an explosive device'.

They said: "The aircraft was on the ground at the time of the incident. Officers worked with airport staff and with the aircraft crew to provide an immediate response to the report.

Philip Lowe via Storyful

"In the interests of public and officer safety, armed officers were also deployed to the area of the aircraft.

"Following instruction, the man safely left the aircraft where he was arrested on suspicion of possession of an explosive substance."

"Following the arrest, the aircraft has been fully searched. No explosive device has been found onboard and there is no suggestion that the threat made is viable.

"The man arrested has since been released on bail and our enquiries remain ongoing."

Topics: UK News, Travel, Crime, News

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

@MrJoeHarker