Chilling audio has emerged of the moment a British Airways captain was told to cancel take-off due to a bomb threat that forced passengers on board the flight from Bermuda to Britain to evacuate on Sunday.
The flight was supposed to leave the island in the Atlantic to return to London on Sunday night, but air traffic controllers frantically radioed the pilots moments before takeoff.
“Cancel takeoff clearance, cancel takeoff clearance… We received information about a bomb threat,” the controller said.
‘Okay, cancel takeoff clearance… do you want us to leave the runway?’ the captain responded, before rushing to ask for more information.
After a few moments of silence, the controller orders the pilots to hold their position while traffic to the airport is blocked, before police officers and a security team are deployed to search the aircraft and the airport.
Meanwhile, passengers were removed from the flight while teams searched the plane and facilities.
The BA flight, which was due to leave for London at 8:50 p.m. the previous night, had to be evacuated immediately (File image)
Finally, the flight was given permission to take off and the flow of regular traffic in and out of the airport was restored at 11 p.m.
Explaining the security operation, a Bermuda Police Service spokesperson said officers were dispatched to close the Causeway and Kindley Field Road outside the airport while airport security searched the airport building and surrounding area.
“LF Wade International Airport staff notified police of a bomb threat that was received via email,” he said.
“Staff also advised that emergency landing protocols had been initiated at the airport.”
He added: “Once the go-ahead was given and the airport was declared safe, regular traffic flow was restored.
“We want to thank the public for their patience and cooperation during this emergency road closure.”
All passengers were reported safe and sound and the facility was later “declared safe.”
A British Airways spokeswoman added: ‘The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our top priority and we follow our standard procedures for disembarking from the aircraft.
“Our teams care about our customers and support the team as we work to get them on the road as soon as possible.”