An Emirates airliner with 228 passengers on board and 18 crew members, which took off from Athens International Airport for New York on Thursday evening, was forced to turn back and return to Athens by order of Greek police, a police source told us.
“Following information from foreign authorities that a suspicious person was on board this plane, the Greek police ordered his return to Athens International Airport +Elefthérios Vénizelos+”, a spokeswoman for the Greek police told AFP.
Escorted by two Hellenic Air Force F-16 fighter jets, the Emirates EK-210 plane turned around about 45 minutes after takeoff from Athens airport, according to the same source.
He landed at Athens International Airport around 22:00 local time (19:00 GMT) on Thursday, where he “Checks were carried out on the aircraft, on the passengers and in the hold”, according to a police source.
According to initial information, it was the US authorities who warned the Greek police about the presence of one “suspicious person” in the device. Shortly before the return of this Emirates plane, another plane from the same company bound for Dubai was checked before takeoff from Athens Airport on Thursday evening.
Authorities did not identify anyone as a suspect, and eventually the plane departed for Dubai after a nearly five-hour delay, according to a Greek airport source.
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