Passengers on board a Jet2.com Boeing 737 from East Midlands to Palma de Mallorca had a shock when their aircraft landed on Monday, as the aircraft was directed to a remote part of the airport after it had landed and was surrounded by security services.
The air traffic controllers had become aware of “unusual” activities in the communication between the aircraft and the ground, prompting them to ask if the transmission was intentional, to which the crew replied in the affirmative.
This prompted the air traffic controllers to activate an emergency alert, assuming that the aircraft had been hijacked.
Once the police entered the aircraft on the apron it became clear that it was a false alarm, which has been put down to “miscommunication”.
The incident resulted in a 3 hour delay for the return flight to East Midlands.
