A group of 18 British citizens were removed from a London Heathrow-bound British Airways flight from Tel Aviv on Sunday evening after one passenger threatened to blow up the airplane.
The captain reported the incident to British Airways, who gave him permission to remove the group from the airplane, the Israel Airports Authority said.
A Ben-Gurion Airport security team was dispatched to the plane, and carried out an inspection of both the passengers and aircraft.
After the passengers’ luggage was removed from the hold of the aircraft, it was determined that there was no threat. The passengers were returned to the terminal and the plane took off after a delay of approximately two hours and 10 minutes.
“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority,” British Airways said in a statement. “We take these matters extremely seriously, and the appropriate action will always be taken.”