Plane is grounded by bomb scare

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More than 250 passengers and crew on a low-cost British plane bound for Egypt endured hours of terror yesterday after a message scrawled on the back of an air sickness bag indicated that there could be a bomb on board.

More than 250 passengers and crew on a low-cost British plane bound for Egypt endured hours of terror yesterday as the pilot reported that a bomb was suspected to be on board. However, a thorough search of the aircraft turned up no bomb and authorities declared it was a false alarm.

The alert began when a passenger told a flight attendant that he had found the words "There's a bomb on this plane" written on the back of an airsickness bag.

The Boeing 767, belonging to Sussex-based Excel Airways, took off from Gatwick airport at 11.45am yesterday, bound for the Egyptian resort of Hurghada. After the graffiti was found, the pilot requested permission to land at Brindisi in southern Italy.

The Italian air force scrambled an F-16 jet, which escorted the plane to the port city in the Puglia region. Jane Selubiba, a spokeswoman for Excel, described the emergency landing as "a precautionary diversion". There were 269 passengers and crew aboard the aircraft. At Brindisi the passengers were disembarked and the cabin and hold luggage examined. Within an hour, the alarm was lifted.

Silvestro Auriemma, one of the passengers, was sitting behind the man. He said the note said there was a bomb on the plane.

The note had been seen by some passengers before it was passed to cabin staff, who passed it on to cockpit crew. The captain decided to tell all passengers what the note said and announced that the plane was being diverted.

Mr Auriemma said: "After the captain made the announcement about the bomb there were children crying and people were very shaken up. We were evacuated from the plane as soon as possible." He said forensic teams then searched the plane.