A Ryanair plane was escorted by several F-16 fighters on its way to Billund Airport, where it had to make an emergency landing and was met by both police, fire brigade and bomb-sniffing dogs.
Thursday Billund Airport became the scene of a rare incident. A Ryanair aircraft arrived at the airport with an escort of several F-16 fighter jets from the Royal Danish Air Force Quick Reaction Alert, which aims to reject unwanted aircraft in Danish airspace or help aircraft that are in trouble.
The plane from low-cost airline Ryanair was on its way from the Lithuanian capital Vilnius to Billund, but during the flight, the Danish police received a report, which the law enforcement interpreted as a bomb threat, reports Vejle County Folkeblad.
Ryanair’s Boeing 737-800 registered SP-RKG was en route to Billund on flight FR4210. It landed early at the airport at 14:51, after which it was met by the Danish Armed Forces’ Ammunition Clearance Service (EOD), which had turned up with bomb-sniffing dogs. In addition, both firefighters and rescue personnel were also present in connection with the emergency landing.
The South-East Jutland Police state that it was the Danish air traffic service Naviair that made the decision that the emergency landing should take place at Billund Airport, which was also the aircraft’s original destination.
“EOD has not been running out there, but the explosive-sniffing dogs have been through the plane and did not find anything unusual. It seems violent when we do it, but we work according to the motto ‘rather once too much than once too little’,” says duty officer Steffen Wolf from the South East Jutland Police.
The Armed Forces’ Operations Center has confirmed to Vejle County’s Folkeblad that the Quick Reaction Alert was activated. There are usually two planes.
The Ryanair plane was originally supposed to have flown on from the airport at 15.25, but the departure was delayed until 19.09 when the 737-800 took off and headed for Vilnius once again.
Source: Vejle County Folkeblad, Check-in.dk
