190 passengers on Larnaca flight to Rome evacuated over bomb threat

A passenger aircraft at Larnaca Airport was evacuated on Friday morning before its scheduled departure for Rome at 11:10. The reason was a message in English reporting an explosive device in the baggage on board. Around 190 passengers were on board, and all of them were escorted off the aircraft along with their personal belongings.

The threat said that “the bomb would explode in 20 minutes”. The message arrived by fax and was received by the Department of Civil Aviation, the police and several other government services.

This was reported by Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Evi Ts olaki. According to her, the approved protocols were followed from the first minute: first, the threat was assessed, followed by the necessary checks. “There are protocols and procedures that are followed from the very beginning,” Tsolaki said.

The airport activated its crisis response plan. The aircraft was moved to a secure parking area, and sniffer dogs, explosives experts and all relevant units arrived at the scene. The passengers were accommodated in the terminal building.

The police searched the passengers again, while the baggage was unloaded and checked with specially trained dogs and X-ray equipment. The aircraft cabin was also inspected. No explosive device was found, and the alert was called off. The flight to Rome will operate after all checks have been completed.