Bomb threat forces Norwegian passenger plane to make emergency landing in Sweden

A bomb threat forced a Nice-bound plane carrying 169 passengers to turn around mid-flight and make an emergency landing in Stockholm.

The Boeing 737 landed back at Stockholm Arlanda Airport in the Swedish capital, where it was met by rescue crews. All passengers and crew were evacuated, and armed special forces have arrived at the scene. Bomb-sniffing dogs are currently searching the area around the plane.

“We can confirm that we are working on the matter and that there is information from an airline that they have received a bomb threat. We are on site at Arlanda,” Towe Hagg of the Stockholm police said.

One passenger reported to local media that those on board had been told to turn off their phones while the rescue operation was in progress. Police instructed the passengers to exit the plane in groups of 10.

The threat was reported to the Swedish Maritime Administration’s naval and aircraft rescue center via air traffic control in the city of Malmo. There is still no information on how the initial threat was conveyed.

Norwegian airlines released a statement regarding the incident on their website. “We can confirm that a bomb threat was directed at a flight from Arlanda to Nice. For safety reasons, the aircraft returned to Arlanda. We note that there are a lot of questions from the media. This is now a police case, so further questions must be addressed to them. Norway’s main priority right now is the safety of our passengers and employees,” it said.

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