BERLIN // A London-bound easyJet flight was diverted to Cologne on Saturday evening due to a “suspicious conversation” heard on board.
Passengers were removed from the plane on emergency slides and three men were arrested, German police said.
The pilot of the flight from the Slovenian capital Ljubljana decided to land after passengers told flight attendants “that several men were talking about terrorist activities,” a police spokesman said.
The plane landed in a secure area of Cologne-Bonn airport about 6pm.
They isolated a backpack belonging to the three suspects, which was blown up by bomb squad officers.
The three men were handed over to police in Cologne, but no details were provided on the contents of their baggage or the reality of the terrorist threat.
Air traffic at the airport was interrupted between 7pm and 10pm with 10 flights diverted and 20 departures delayed.
Germany remains on high alert after several extremist attacks there and in other European countries.
Authorities on Friday evacuated Germany’s biggest rock festival, the three-day “Rock am Ring”, over fears of a terrorist threat, which proved unfounded.
* Agence France-Presse
