Counter terror police probe passenger 'shouting Allahu Akbar after making bomb threat' on packed plane - as man, 41, is charged
Counter terror police are probing a video posted on social media showing a passenger claim to have a bomb before shouting 'Allahu Akbar' in front of terrified onlookers.
The incident took place on an easyJet flight from London Luton Airport to Glasgow on Sunday morning.
Officers raced to meet the plane on arrival in Scotland where a man was arrested.
Today, police confirmed that a 41-year-old has been charged and will appear at Paisley Sheriff Court later.
They said in a statement: 'We believe the incident to be contained and that nobody else was involved.
'We are aware of videos circulating online and these are being assessed by counter terrorism officers.'
In one of the videos, a man could be seen shouting: 'Stop the plane. Find the bomb on the plane. Death to America. Death to Trump.'
He was then heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar' three times - a phrase which means 'God is the greatest' in Arabic.
A hero passenger from row 21 then tackled the man to the ground and held him on the floor.
Another man sat on top of him to restrain him and said: 'Sit down don't move.'
In another clip, people could be heard nervously asking 'who is he with?', 'does he have his phone?'.
The cabin crew could be heard announcing that the plane would be 'landing very shortly'.
Passengers asked the man if he had anything in his bag, asking 'do you have a bomb?'.
They then asked the man if he had been drinking or taking drugs.
He was quizzed by two men, with one asking: 'Why did you say you wanted to bomb this plane?'
The passengers managed to locate the man's bag and asked him if he had anything in his pockets.
Another panicked woman said: 'Check everywhere, not just his pockets, check his body.'
They took his wallet and managed to find his ID, as a woman was heard crying as she took an emotional phone call with a loved one.
Upon landing in Glasgow, police were caught on video arresting the man, while he remained lying down in the aisle of the plane.
The officer told the man: 'You're calm now, are you going to be calm when I stand you up.'
The man replied: 'I'm calm now.'
As he was escorted off the plane, the man asked for his 'phone and wallet', which received a cold response from passengers who told him to 'f*** off'.
Some managed to find some humour and laughed at the man's request, with one heard saying 'it is like a comedy sketch'.
Yesterday, a spokesperson for easyJet said: 'Flight EZY609 from Luton to Glasgow this morning was met by police on arrival in Glasgow, where they boarded the aircraft and removed a passenger due to their behaviour onboard.
'easyJet's crew are trained to assess all situations and act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other customers are not compromised at any time.
'The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always easyJet's highest priority.'
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