The officers boarded the Dubai-bound Emirates EK004 flight, which had 331 people inside, after air crew alerted the police, Sky News reported.The police entered the plane when it was about to takeoff at 8 pm local time on Friday night. The flight was grounded for over three hours.
Emirates said the incident occurred after “threat remarks” were made as the plane prepared for takeoff. Three men, aged 58, 48 and 36, have been arrested on suspicion of making a bomb threat, the report quoted the Metropolitan Police as saying.
The three men were handcuffed and dragged off the flight by officers wearing full body armour. One allegedly made a “verbal threat” as the plane taxied towards the Terminal 3 runway, Mail Online reported.
Witnesses described the main suspect as a white man.Passengers remained on board while officers emptied overhead lockers. Sniffer dogs were brought on to the Boeing 777 to search for potential explosives.
Up to eight police vehicles surrounded the plane, although no ambulances were present.
Heathrow Airport remained open, despite the security alert. Officers are not believed to have found any suspicious substances on the Emirates aircraft. A Scotland Yard source was quoted as saying by Mail Online that “we are aware of a security incident at Heathrow. The airport and terminal remains open. We have not found anything.”
A spokesman for Heathrow Airport also confirmed the incident on the EK004 flight to Dubai.
“Police are attending. It’s not affecting the rest of the airport which remains opens,” he said.
