Ryanair Flight Diverted to Berlin over 'Potential Security Threat'

A Ryanair flight traveling from Ireland to Poland made an emergency landing in Germany because of a “potential security threat on board,” the airline said Monday.

The plane carrying about 160 passengers from Dublin to Krakow was flying near Berlin on Sunday evening when German air traffic control warned the crew of an unspecified threat, according to the airline and media reports. The captain followed procedures and diverted to the nearest airport in the German capital, a company official said in a statement.

The aircraft landed safely and passengers were taken off the plane for a security check. Nothing suspicious was found, but the Irish airline did not provide details. German newspaper Bild reported that the incident involved a bomb threat.

“Ryanair apologises sincerely to all affected passengers for this unavoidable delay, which was outside the airline’s control,” the company official said.

Passengers boarded a spare Ryanair plane after an eight-hour delay and were taken to Krakow without further incident, according to the statement.

The security scare comes a week after another Ryanair flight, traveling from Greece to Lithuania, was forced to land in Belarus after authorities there cited a supposed bomb threat on board. But European leaders have denounced the move as an orchestrated “hijacking” because no bomb was found on the plane, which was carrying a prominent opposition figure. Raman Pratasevich, who fled Belarus last year after being declared an extremist, was arrested at the airport.

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