“Bomb On Board” British Airways Cancels Takeoff Clearance At Last Minute After Terrorist Threat
On Sunday evening, British Airways flight 158 from Bermuda to London Heathrow airport was evacuated following an emailed bomb threat. The Boeing 777-200ER, registered G-VIIN, was preparing for a scheduled 8:50 PM departure and was already taxiing towards the runway.
- Air traffic control: “Speedbird 18B cancel takeoff clearance, cancel takeoff clearance… we have received some information regarding a bomb threat.”
British Airways pilot: “Okay, cancel takeoff clearance. Would you like us to leave the runway?”
British Airways Boeing 777 – flt BA158 / BAW18B ( SPEEDBIRD 18 BRAVO ) entered the runway for takeoff from Bremuda to London this evening and ATC canceled their takeoff clearance because they received a email stating there was a bomb onboard!
Audio via @liveatc
Thanks to… pic.twitter.com/0Vd8oiY4hS
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) May 6, 2024
The control tower instructed BA158 to move to an isolated area for a possible disembarkation.
Passengers were quickly evacuated through the forward left-hand door using airstairs in what was described as a rapid disembarkation. Video shows passengers standing near the aircraft.
British Airways flight BA158 from Bermuda to London evacuated moments before takeoff due to a bomb threat.
officialjaybda pic.twitter.com/HgunRT54vN
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 6, 2024
Roads nearby were closed and a search of the airport commenced. The airport was declared safe, and normal traffic flow resumed a couple of hours later.
According to British Airways,
The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our highest priority, and we followed our standard procedures to disembark the aircraft.
The flight took off about three and a half hours behind schedule, which was a shorter delay than I would have expected under the circumstances.