Ibiza airport closed over BOMB threat on Ryanair flight sparking diversions and travel chaos as man arrested
IBIZA airport has been closed following a bomb threat on a Ryanair flight, it has emerged.
Spanish cops arrested a man just moments before takeoff on a flight to Milan’s Bergamo airport on Thursday.
The suspect, who has not been named, allegedly claimed to have been carrying a bomb as the aircraft prepared to depart.
The threat has sparked chaos at the island airport, with doors shut for nearly an hour and no landings or take-offs allowed.
Flight operations are said to have been suspended from around 3.45pm to 4.30pm local time.
A spokesman for Spanish airport operator Aena said: “There has been a security incident on a plane at Ibiza Airport and the Civil Guard has taken charge of the situation.
“Normal flight operations at the airport were suspended for around 45 minutes.”
He said he wasn’t in a position to say how many flights had been affected.
But the incident is thought to have had knock-on effects in terms of delays for outgoing flights.
FlightRadar data shows that 84 departures and 34 arrivals have so far been delayed today, while a further three arrivals were cancelled outright.
It’s also claimed that some flights were diverted to other destinations like Palma Airport in Majorca.
It’s currently unclear whether any Brits were on the flight from Ibiza to Milan.
One video taken near one of the airport’s runways allegedly showed passengers being taken off a Ryanair plane.
Earlier this month, a storm caused flight chaos at Majorca’s Palma Airport, forcing the suspension of flights for around two hours during a downpour that flooded parts of the inside of the terminal.
Pictures and videos showed planes grounded on flooded runways, water pouring through the ceiling and airport workers wading through knee-high flood water.
One pilot was even filmed aborting his landing at the last minute after facing “zero visibility” during his approach to the airport.
He was a split-second from touching down on the sodden tarmac when he decided instead to head back towards the skies for the safety of those on board.