News has just emerged this afternoon that a plane which left Dublin airport yesterday morning was forced to land at a military base in Dubai after an online security threat took place mid air.
The airliner released the following statement:
Etihad Airways flight EY042 from Dublin to Abu Dhabi on 10 February 2017, was diverted to land at Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai, following a security threat onboard. The crew completed all necessary inflight checks as per procedure, with no abnormalities found, then followed the authorities instructions to undergo further security checks at the Air Base.
Upon disembarking, the guests, baggage and aircraft went through additional security screening which took several hours. Throughout this process, the guests were accommodated in the Air Base and were provided with refreshments. Guests then boarded police escorted buses to Abu Dhabi airport to be processed through the terminal.
The majority of transferring guests were re-booked on morning flights (11 February 2017) and were offered overnight accommodation in Abu Dhabi.
Etihad Airways apologises for the inconvenience caused – however, the safety and security of our guests and crew is our top priority.
Etihad Airways now fly directly to the middle east from Dublin’s Terminal 1 runway.