Counting error causes flight diversion
Thomas Cook passengers flying home from Cape Verde were delayed five hours due to a false alarm.
Their flight to Gatwick was diverted to Tenerife two hours after take-off after the pilot was told of a possible discrepancy in the number of bags on the A321.
It was feared that one of the bags on the aircraft belonged to a passenger who didn’t board the plane on the island of Sal.
When the aircraft landed in Tenerife, passengers were told to disembark and held in a lounge while police bomb disposal experts with sniffer dogs searched the aircraft.
However, no suspicious bags were found and flight MT1157 was given the all-clear, eventually landing at Gatwick five hours late at 3am yesterday morning.
A spokesperson for Thomas Cook Airlines, said: "Flight MT1157 from Cape Verde to London Gatwick diverted last night as a precautionary measure to Tenerife to investigate a possible discrepancy in the number of bags it was carrying.
"After a full security check, no discrepancy was found and our customers continued their journey at 2340hrs GMT. We are very sorry for the inconvenience but safety is always our highest priority."
The spokesman said the potential discrepancy in the number of bags came about via an updated load sheet; the one on which the decision to depart Sal was made showed no discrepancy.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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