3 Britons held for ‘bomb threat’ in Dubai-bound plane

LONDON - Three Britons aboard a Dubai-bound flight were arrested after the cabin crew alerted the police about a potential bomb threat as the aircraft prepared to take-off from Heathrow airport here.

The Boeing-777 jet with 330 passengers on board was delayed for three hours till armed policemen stormed the Emirates flight and arrested the trio, aged 58, 48 and 36, Sky News reported, quoting the Metropolitan Police.

“Police just swarmed the guy and rushed him out. I think he was a white male. There was another one but I didn’t see him,” said Cameron McLean, a passenger seated a few rows behind.

One man was taken out in handcuffs after which sniffer dogs were brought in to check along the aisles and in the overhead lockers, he said.

Police, however, did not find anything suspicious during the search.

One report said that the alert was raised after a “remark” was made by an apparently drunk passenger thretening to blow up the flight.

The men had been drinking and may have made the comments in jest, but aviation experts believe that the crew had acted prudently under the circumstances, the report said.

The incident comes amid heightened security screenings at airports across the world in the wake of the failed Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound flight by 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a former London student.