Passengers 'started crying' as flight diverted over 'bomb scare' in mid air

A Jet2 flight traveling from Dalaman, Turkey (DLM/LTBS) to Manchester, England (MAN/EGCC) was forced to divert to Stansted (STN/EGSS) due to a bomb scare. 

A spokesperson for London Stansted Airport said: "We can confirm that flight LS922 from Dalaman to Manchester had diverted to London Stansted under the direction of the UK authorities.

Passengers on the diverted Jet2 flight were left in the dark during reports of an unconfirmed bomb scare, as the flight was diverted from Manchester to Stansted where it was surrounded by armed police.

Passengers recalled the terrifying moment armed police surrounded the plane after it was diverted away from Manchester after a security threat.

The Jet2 flight from Dalaman was escorted by two RAF jets to London Stansted following unconfirmed reports of a bomb threat.

Travellers were left in the dark and said they “had no idea” what was going on as the plane landed in a “red point” at the airport before armed police swarmed around it.

Andrea Aspinwall said police had their guns pointed at the aircraft as it sat stationary for about two hours. She said passengers onboard were told to “sit calm” but that “everyone started panicking”.

Andrea, from north Wales, said she sensed that “something was wrong” when the plane began circling in the moments after the pilot announced that they would soon be landing at Manchester Airport.

Andrea said: "We thought we were near Manchester but then the plane kept circling.

"The pilot had said we would be landing soon, and all the staff were in their seats."

She said the toilets were then locked, everyone was told to stay in their seats and then the plane landed after turning.

Andrea continued: "When we actually landed on this strip with nothing there, we were taken to a 'red point'. The air hostesses couldn't tell us what was going on.

"We sat there and then we saw all these armed police driving up. We were terrified. We knew something was wrong then. Police had their guns pointing at the plane.

"Everyone started panicking, I started crying. I'm disabled so I don't take things good as it is."

Andrea added: "The pilot came on and said: 'Don't worry we need to sit calm' but no one could stand up and this was for a good two hours. We didn't even know where we were.

"We saw it on the internet and people saw it on social media. Everyone was saying 'oh my god' as it said it was a bomb scare.

“It was scary, it really was. I don't get frightened very easily, but I was scared. It was the scariest moment of my life."

Andrea said the pilot was eventually able to leave the cockpit and speak to passengers. He apologised and said they were told they had to land as soon as possible, she added.

Once passengers were allowed off the plane, she said “the chaos started” as passengers were unsure what would happen next.

Andrea said: "There was no one showing us where to go or what to do next. We had to stay downstairs for hours until we got direction.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Jet2 Holidays

Code: LS/EXS

Aircraft: Airbus A321-211

Registration: G-HLYB

Serial Number: 6056

Engines: 2 x CFMI CFM56-5B3/P

First Flew: 04/04/2014

Age: 8Yrs. 6Mts

Aircraft History
10/04/2014 Thomas Cook UK G-TCDE     Ceased operations 23 sept 2019
22/12/2021 Jet2 G-HLYB