Diverted BA jet given all-clear

A British Airways jet which had to divert to Amsterdam after a “specific threat” was made against it was cleared by Dutch authorities tonight after a thorough search.

Dutch F-16 fighters escorted the Airbus A319, which was flying from Berlin to Heathrow, into Schiphol airport after a warning was sent to a German TV station.

With emergency services standing by, the plane touched down safely just before 1pm UK time, with the 118 passengers and six crew being taken to a special area within the main terminal.

After three hours, Dutch military police cleared the aircraft for take-off.

By that time, BA had sent a relief flight to bring home the stranded passengers, who are due to return to Heathrow just before 7pm. The diverted plane was being flown back empty later tonight.

A BA spokesman said: “There was a specific threat to the airline but we are not releasing details of exactly what it was.”

A spokeswoman added: “It was a BA decision to divert to Amsterdam. Our security people were in touch with the captain of the aircraft about the decision.”

The incident follows repeated threats some months ago to specific BA London to Washington flights – some of which were cancelled and others severely delayed.

In the last few days, two Athens to New Yor Olympic Airways’ flights were diverted to airports in England and Ireland after two separate Athens newspapers received bomb warnings.

The first plane landed at Stansted airport in Essex and the other at Shannon.

Both were able to fly on to the US eventually after searches of the aircraft revealed nothing.

Jim McAuslan, general secretary of the airline pilots’ union Balpa, said: “Security is a top priority, not only for pilots but also for everyone concerned with civil aviation.

“This incident proves yet again that everything is being done to ensure the safety and security of passengers.

“Aircraft commanders’ training and rehearsals enable them to act swiftly and professionally.

“Whether this incident was a hoax or not, we cannot and will not take risks.”