British tourists booted from Tel Aviv plane over bomb scare

Eighteen British tourists were removed from a British Airways plane at Ben Gurion Airport, after one of the members of the group threatened to blow up the London-bound plane shortly after boarding, the Israel Airports Authority said Sunday.

“After they sat down on the plane, one of the members of the group said he would blow up the plane,” the IAA said. “The captain informed the airline in London and received an order to remove the group from the plane.”

The IAA statement said the plane was cleared of passengers and airport security teams swept the aircraft for explosives.

The Israeli teams determined that there were no bombs on board, and cleared the flight for takeoff a short while later.

The group, visiting Israel for a private event, was not allowed to re-board the flight per the airline’s instructions.