Bomb threat diverts London flight to Warsaw Modlin airport, which closes

A bomb alarm on the London flight

A LOT Boeing 737 MAX flying LO286 took off from London Heathrow early on Tuesday, 3 November, with 181 people on board. It was heading for Warsaw Chopin Airport, but an alarm warning of a bomb on board led to a diversion to Warsaw-Modlin, a smaller airport used mainly by low-cost carriers. Polish reports put the alarm at 09:54 local time, and the jet touched down at 10:01, seven minutes later. A LOT spokesperson confirmed that the flight belonged to the Polish national carrier. The aircraft still carried about 3.7 tonnes of fuel when it landed.

Airport closed and passengers evacuated

After landing, the aircraft was moved to a designated safe area on the edge of the apron. Police, bomb disposal teams and the airport security service began checks on the plane and on passengers' luggage. The port closed Modlin to all flight operations until further notice, and flights bound for the airport were redirected or delayed. Around 11:00, port authorities said the passengers had been evacuated and were waiting in the arrivals hall, while others on site were waiting for decisions from the pyrotechnic teams. Experts were examining the aircraft, which had been placed in an outside position. In an official statement, the port said:

“Services are working to verify the reported threat and to ensure the safety of people at the airport.”

The port promised to update the public on any significant changes and on when flights resume. It was not yet known how long the closure would last.

A second alarm at Chopin Airport

A separate threat concerned an SAS flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw, which landed at Chopin Airport on Tuesday morning. The airport's acting press spokesperson told Polsat News that information had come in about possible explosives, but that it was unclear which aircraft was meant. One runway at Chopin was closed, yet the airport said it was otherwise operating normally, according to RMF24. Danish newspaper BT published photos of specially trained detection dogs working near the SAS jet. A Greek report, citing the Guardian, said the airport had been told of a possibly dangerous object aboard that aircraft. Some Greek headlines describe two Warsaw airports as closed, which conflicts with Polish reports that Chopin stayed open apart from the one runway.

An earlier false alarm on a Wizz Air flight

On Monday, 2 November, a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was redirected to Budapest after an in-flight report of a bomb threat. Checks afterwards found the alarm was false, according to Greek and Romanian reports. No reopening time for Modlin has been announced in the reports so far.