On Thursday evening, Athens Airport and Emirates Airline received a warning from the US secret service that a person suspected of being involved in terrorism was on board one of the Gulf carrier's planes. Flight EK209, which was already airborne, was ordered to land immediately.

The captain commanding the Boeing 777-300ER with the registration A6-EQC received the information approximately at the height of Malta. According to reports, Italy and France refused the alternative landing, so that after rounds over Sardinia he decided to return to Athens. The long-haul aircraft, which was en route to New York-Newark, was escorted by two fighter jets in Greek airspace.

After landing in the Greek capital, passengers were asked to disembark the Boeing 777-300ER with their hand luggage. According to reports from passengers, the "suspected person" was ordered to remain seated and was said to have been taken away by the Greek law enforcement agency. All passengers' luggage was unloaded and subjected to a thorough security check. The same applies to the aircraft itself. A concrete result of the measures was not communicated. Flight EK209 was cancelled, with travelers on board initially being told of technical issues as the rationale for returning to Greece to avoid any panic.

EK210 was not allowed to start

Another Emirates flight, EK210, to be operated on a Boeing 777-300ER, registration A6-EQF, was en route towards the runway. Greek air traffic control refused permission to take off and ordered the long-haul jet back to the gate. All passengers were asked to exit the plane. The security authorities have subjected this machine to an extensive check. This flight to Athens was only allowed to take off shortly after 22:00 p.m. local time. Apparently nothing was found during the police check.

Regarding the two flights, Greek media reports that there was a warning from the CIA. At first it would have been unclear whether the suspect was on EK209 or EK210. A person who was on board the first named flight is said to have been arrested. Whether it was the one that was sought is not clear. In any case, no one was harmed by the safety-related decisions, because all passengers and crew members were able to exit the machine.