Bomb threat forces plane to land at Arlanda

Bomb threat forces plane to land at Arlanda

A bomb threat has forced an airplane on its way from Canada to Pakistan with 273 passengers on board to land at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport.

“The plane has landed,” said Stefan Nylén of the Alanda police to the TT news agency.

According to the Expressen newspaper, the plane landed around 7.30 am and a total of 15 police patrols are on the scene at Arlanda.

“All airports have a special place for where you can allow a threatened plane to come down. We’re blocking off and securing the area around the place so that emergency response teams can get there. We’re waiting to make contact with the pilot onboard. At this point the air control officers in the tower have contact with the pilot,” said Nylén.

According to the police, the pilot alerted the air control officers at Arlanda that a person on board the flight, according to police, was likely carrying explosives.

“The police’s bomb experts are on their way to Arlanda right now,” Janne Hedlund of the Stockholm county police told TT.

The plane, a Boeing 777 operated by Pakistan International Airlines, was on its way from Toronto to Karachi, Pakistan.

Regular air traffic at Arlanda is unaffected by the threat. Terminals are open as usual and all remaining flights are leaving on schedule.

“We have so much capacity that we can put a plane to the side so that it doesn’t affect other traffic,” said Arlanda spokesperson Anders Bredfell to TT.

http://www.thelocal.se/29238/20100925/