An airplane on its way from Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle, Washington in the US landed in Keflavík on Monday afternoon as a result of an onboard bomb threat. RÚV reports that the plane turned around over Greenland when Icelandic aviation authorities received word that a passenger on the plane had written “BOMB” on the mirror in one of the aircraft lavatories.
Two hundred and sixty-six passengers were onboard the flight, which was operated by German airline Condor. The plane was successfully evacuated after landing in Keflavík. Bomb squads from the National Police Commissioner’s special forces and the Icelandic Coast Guard were called to the scene, but no bomb was found, neither on a passenger’s person, in the onboard luggage, or on the plane itself.
All flight passengers were interrogated on Monday and evidence collected from passengers’ luggage. The initial investigation was concluded around midnight, by which point, the passengers had been waiting in a closed section of the airport for seven hours. They were then transported to 11 different hotels in the area for the evening and the original aircraft was flown back to Germany. A new aircraft with a new crew was sent in its place.
On Tuesday afternoon, all the flight’s passengers were allowed to leave the country on the new aircraft, which departed from Keflavík around 3:00 pm.
The culprit behind the threat has not yet been identified.
Police will continue to investigate the incident. Úlfar Lúðvíksson, chief of police in Suðurnes, says the investigation will be extensive and could take several months.
