Jet2 passengers left terrified as bomb scare sees man removed from flight by armed police

Watch the moment armed police removed a man from a Jet2 flight after a bomb scare. The incident left passengers “terrified”.

The flight was grounded at East Midlands airport yesterday (August 21) at around 5.15pm. It was grounded following claims an explosive device was on board.

Police confirmed that no bomb was found in the search. Police also said it was not a “viable” threat.

The man was arrested but has since been given bail. One passenger, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was left shaken by the incident.

The passenger sat on the tarmac watching the incident take place. His flight to Majorca, which took off at 7.30pm,  was delayed for two hours as a result.

He said: "We were due to take off at 5.35pm. I was travelling alone with my two young boys who were kept entertained by their devices - but it was terrifying.

“The whole plane was in a state of apprehension. There were around two dozen police."

Leicestershire Police said: "At 5.16pm today (Monday), police were informed of a report of a male aboard an aircraft at East Midlands Airport who stated he was in possession of an explosive device. 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. 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."

Jet2 said: "We can confirm that flight LS653 from East Midlands to Antalya returned to stand yesterday evening so that police could offload a disruptive passenger. The flight departed after the passenger was offloaded, and we would like to apologise to everyone onboard for any inconvenience or upset caused by this unforeseen incident."