Dubai: A Virgin Atlantic flight travelling from Dubai to Heathrow was delayed for three hours after a hoax security threat on Tuesday.
The incident happened on flight VS401 that was supposed to take off at 11am from Dubai International Airport.
All passengers were deplaned and then taken for additional security checks before being allowed to depart.
Some passengers got themselves offloaded after the security procedure in Dubai which followed a deadly terror attack in Manchester late on Monday, killing 22 people and injuring 50, sources told Gulf News. They said 26 passengers voluntarily chose not to fly. This could not be confirmed from the airline.
“The flight departed at 2.17pm this afternoon. Unfortunately, I’m not able to share details of the passengers who chose not to fly today,” a Virgin spokesperson told Gulf News.
In an earlier statement to Gulf News, the airline said: “Our customers travelling on the VS401 from Dubai to London Heathrow have temporarily disembarked the aircraft for additional security checks.
“This is purely as a precautionary measure as the safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority and we’re planning to have everyone on their way as quickly as possible.”
Dubai Airports also confirmed that the departure of a Virgin Atlantic aircraft was delayed while additional security checks were carried out.
“These were carried out in close cooperation with Dubai Police and the airline, following which the aircraft was cleared for departure,” it said.
One of the passengers told Gulf News that the he overheard that a bomb threat was found in the headphone packet received by one passenger.
“It seems it was written in a pouch given along with the headphone for passengers to put donations for charity,” said the passenger who did not wish to be named.
He said all the passengers had to go through security checks after they were deplaned.
Eyewitnesses also said that dog squads and bomb squads were also called in for a thorough check.
It is not known from where the bomb threat notice was inserted. Gulf News learnt that the headphones are packed from London.
By 3pm, Dubai Media Office tweeted that the flight departed from Dubai International Airport.
Passengers also took to Twitter to confirm that the plane was deemed safe by authorities, and they had been given the green light to head back on flight VS401.
In a series of tweets, Mark W. said: “Some form of threat was called in after the plane had fully boarded. Virgin performed their routine search and then the Dubai officials.
“Passengers sent back through full security scan. Dogs, guys in hazmat suites etc. All very polite and professional, but very odd.”
