Emirates says ‘note implying threat’ found on flight

Emirates, the biggest Arab airline, said it found a note “implying a security threat” on a flight from Dubai to London’s Gatwick airport.

Emirates, the biggest Arab airline, said it found a note “implying a security threat” on a flight from Dubai to London’s Gatwick airport.

The note was found “by a passenger, 10 minutes before landing,” the Dubai-based airline said in an e-mailed statement today. “The aircraft is now being thoroughly inspected and the passengers are being interviewed by the local authorities.”

The aircraft’s 164 passengers and its crew were evacuated and the airport was temporarily closed, the British Broadcasting Corp. said.

U.K. police investigating a “suspicious device” on the Emirates plane at Gatwick said a man in his 20s was later arrested on suspicion of being involved in a bomb hoax.

“This was potentially an extremely serious situation and we immediately mounted an emergency response,” Chief Inspector Ed Henriet of Sussex Police said in a statement on the force’s Web site. “At all times public safety was the key priority. We are very grateful for the calm and understanding response from those directly affected, including the passengers who were on board and those waiting to meet them.”

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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