German police evacuate Turkey bound plane after anonymous call

BERLIN – Reuters

German police evacuated a Germania plane due to take off from Kassel airport for Turkey on July 5 after an anonymous caller said luggage on board posed danger. 

Germania said flight ST8056 had been due to fly to the Turkish resort of Antalya before notice of the threat. All 128 passengers and seven crew members were being looked after at Kassel airport in western Germany. 
Police said they evacuated the plane and checked the caller’s claim. 

“An anonymous caller contacted Kassel-Calden airport this afternoon,” police from the state of Hesse said in a statement. “He said there was a suitcase on board one of the airplanes in the departures area that could pose a threat.” 

Germania operates 22 aircraft, flying predominantly to holiday destinations.  

Earlier in the day, an El Al Boeing 747 flight from New York landed at its Tel Aviv destination after a bomb threat led France and Switzerland to send warplanes to escort the Israeli airliner over their territory.

Sky Guide, a Swiss air navigation service provider, said the bomb threat was received when the El Al aircraft was over France, which led to French and Swiss fighter jets to accompany the flight over their own territories.