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A cell phone left in the bathroom on board caused a stir Sunday night on a Laudamotion (Ryanair Austria) flight from Vienna to London-Stansted. The crew called the mobile phone a “suspicious item”. British military aircraft escorted the plane to the destination airport, two men were temporarily arrested but released on Monday.
According to flighradar24.com, Laudamotion’s Airbus A320 departed at 6:35 pm with a 20-minute delay at Vienna airport in Schwechat and landed in Stansted as scheduled. According to eyewitnesses, most of the passengers may not have noticed the interceptors. However, after landing, the machine remained on the runway for about an hour until the police came on board and picked up two men who neither resisted nor protested their arrest.
A package containing battery-like items was found, according to an APA employee whose London-living family members were aboard the FR7364 on its flight home. The crew were unable to decipher a letter lying there and then notified the English authorities, who sent the military aircraft as escorts. Only after the arrests did the crew inform the passengers about the find and the measures taken as a result.
“No references to Austria”
The two arrested passengers were a 34-year-old man from Kuwait and a 48-year-old man from Italy, as British media reported online Monday. The men were initially said to be being investigated on suspicion of terrorism. They were released that afternoon after it was determined that the item found did not pose a threat. The men are not suspected of having committed crimes, police said, according to a BBC online report.
“The Austrian Office for the Protection of the Constitution is aware of the incidents in London. According to the latest information from the British security authorities, it was probably a mobile phone and therefore not a dangerous object,” he confirmed also the Home Office (BMI) in Vienna to British media reports. “There is currently no evidence that there is any connection to Austria.” However, various detailed information is still pending, but the national authorities are in contact with both the liaison officers and the UK security authorities.
Ryanair commented
It was unclear how many passengers were affected by the incident aboard the Laudamotion machine. The APA did not initially have a statement from Laudamotion in Austria on the incident. Upon request, only the statement from the Irish parent company Ryanair was transmitted.
“The crew of a Ryanair flight from Vienna to London Stansted warned of a possible threat to safety on board tonight (August 30). In accordance with the guidelines, the captain informed the UK authorities and continued the flight to London Stansted, where the plane was located. It landed normally and taxied to a distant parking position where passengers safely disembarked, “Ryanair said. Passengers awaiting the flight back to Vienna were transported with a replacement aircraft. All the rest is a matter for the police.
