The foiled terrorist plot to blow up ten planes over the Atlantic scared us all, and perhaps it brought us back to the harsh reality that is life today. A plane leaving Hethrow Airport in London had to turn around today, due to a mobile phone that did not belong ot any of the passengers. The pilot was being cautious, and rightly so.
A British Airways flight to New York was turned back to London’s
Heathrow airport on Sunday because of a security scare over a mobile
phone that did not belong to any of the passengers, officials said.The
phone was later found to be safe, as the government said the threat to
Britain of a terrorist attack had been downgraded to severe from the
critical level last week when police said they had foiled a plot to
blow up transatlantic airliners.Despite the downgrading, the
Transport Department warned in a statement: "This (still) means that a
terrorist attack is still highly likely."British Airways said the captain of the airliner, which was
carrying 217 passengers, had decided to return to London as a
precautionary measure.
"A mobile phone was located on board the aircraft which none of the passengers appeared to own," it said in a statement.
Mobile
phones were banned from flights departing from British airports under
new tough security measures introduced after the disclosure of the
alleged plot to smuggle bombs on to aircraft disguised as drinks.
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