Three men were arrested by armed police at London Stansted Airport for allegedly staging a bomb hoax on an easyJet flight to Amsterdam. ‘Specialist officers’ stormed the plane on Wednesday evening shortly after 7.40 p.m., following reports of a’security concern on a plane on the ground.’ It came after the runway was closed for 50 minutes while the A319 passenger plane was moved to a’secure area,’ leaving scores of other jets circling above. During the disruption, six inbound flights had to be diverted, and others were delayed by up to two hours. Our officers worked quickly and robustly to resolve a security alert on board an EasyJet flight from Stansted to Amsterdam and arrest three people,’ Essex Police said in a statement. We received a call shortly after 7.40 p.m. today reporting a security concern on a plane on the ground at the airport.’ It was stated that the plane was moved to a secure location while they conducted their investigation. ‘This meant that the runway was only closed for a short time, limiting wider disruption and allowing the airport to re-open quickly,’ it added. The runway had to be closed for 50 minutes while the A319 passenger plane was moved to a’secure area,’ while scores of other jets circled above. ‘Specialist officers boarded the plane and removed three men, all of whom have been arrested on suspicion of fabricating a bomb hoax and are currently detained.’ ‘Following a thorough search of the plane, we are confident that there is nothing of concern on board.’ The saga caused numerous delays, with flights arriving and departing up to two hours later than scheduled. A flight scheduled to depart from London Stansted to Amsterdam is currently parked on a remote stand while police conduct extra security checks,’ Stansted Airport said earlier this evening. The airport’s runway was temporarily closed but has now been fully reopened.’ ‘The runway was closed for 50 minutes between 7.45 and 8:35pm,’ ‘Six inbound flights were diverted to other airports during that time period.
