Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Germanwings plane from Cologne-Bonn to Milan evacuated after bomb scare

Police said sniffer dogs found no sign of explosives

Josh Barrie
Monday 13 April 2015 07:53 BST
Comments
A Germanwings plane headed for Milan was evacuated at Cologne-Bonn airport after a bomb threat against the flight was received
A Germanwings plane headed for Milan was evacuated at Cologne-Bonn airport after a bomb threat against the flight was received (Rex)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Germanwings plane in Berlin was evacuated today after the airline received a bomb threat.

The threat was made against flight 826 at Germany’s Cologne-Bonn airport on Sunday evening, just as it was taxiing towards the runway to fly to Milan, Italy, according to the airline.

Germanwings, a budget airline owned by Lufthansa, says that the airport tower in Cologne alerted the pilot that the Airbus A320 had received a threat by email 15 minutes before the plane was scheduled to leave.

Instead of taking off, the plane was taken to a safe position where the passengers and crew were evacuated. Federal police were brought in to investigate but sniffer dogs found no evidence of explosives, a German news agency reported.

Passengers and crew on a Germanwings flight were ordered to evacuate the plane as it prepared for take off from Cologne due to a bomb alert
Passengers and crew on a Germanwings flight were ordered to evacuate the plane as it prepared for take off from Cologne due to a bomb alert (AFP/Getty)

After the scare, Germanwings planned to fly customers to Milan on an alternative aircraft. Italian media says that 126 passengers were on board, but no further details have been released by the airline.

The bomb scare comes just weeks after a Germanwings flight crashed in the French Alps, killing everyone on board.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in