Suspicious situation on board Air Europa Airbus A330 at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport turns out to be a false alarm

Emergency services rushed to Amsterdam Schiphol airport, The Netherlands on Wednesday evening after a suspicious situation on board an Air Europa Airbus A330 (EC-LQP) occurred. An arrest unit was on-site and two trauma helicopters were scrambled. The aircraft operated a flight towards Madrid, Spain. 

Dutch authorities announced that a GRIP 3 (*) emergency situation was issued. Several gates at the airport were closed while passengers were kept at a distance. Landing aircraft were instructed to hold short on a remote position. At around 20:40 (UTC +1), passengers and crew members safely left the aircraft.

At around 20:50, Air Europe tweeted that a false alarm was accidentally triggered on board. Apparently, the protocol to announce a kidnapping was activated by mistake. The airline apologised and said that all passengers were safe and good to fly to Madrid.

* GRIP 3

A large area is affected. The mayor will order his full policy team and the municipal disaster management team to convene. The regional operational team will also convene in full composition.

A mayor of one of the municipalities in the region is appointed as coordinating mayor; this is usually the mayor of the largest city in the region. This person chairs the regional policy team which further consists of chiefs of the emergency services and other advisors. The King’s Commissioner is informed, who in turn informs the Minister of the Interior.

The incident can formally be classified as a disaster, although GRIP 3 can also be used in case of an impending disaster.

Forum discussion: https://www.aviation24.be/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=67550