Thomson flight from Cancun grounded due to Jihadi fear
A Thomson flight from Cancun was delayed overnight after a passenger spotted someone onboard had labeled their personal wifi Jihadist Cell London 1.
The passenger, who had been searching for a wifi connection on his own phone when he noticed the label, alerted the crew.
The pilot refused to take off until the culprit was found, but despite repeated requests for them to come forward and a police search of everyone’s electronic devices, they weren’t identified.
The wifi name was eventually deleted, and the pilot suggested someone had used it ‘ for a laugh’, but still urged them to own up to the prank.
After the airline carried out a further security search of everyone onboard the pilot was given clearance to fly, but several passengers were too nervous to remain on the flight as the suspect hadn’t been found.
Due to the time taken to offload their bags, the flight – which had been due to take off on Tuesday afternoon – was cancelled and passengers were taken to a hotel overnight.
A Thomson spokeswoman said: "We would like to apologise to our customers who were delayed, due to a potential security concern raised before take-off, on Tuesday 23rd May on TOM039 from Cancun to London Gatwick.
"A full security check took place as a precautionary measure on the aircraft and we made arrangements to reschedule the flight and return customers home as quickly as possible."
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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