Hoax bomb threats target European airlines and airports for second time in a week

Noble said they remained on board for two-and-a-half hours while police and military personnel carried out checks, including searches with sniffer dogs.

The passengers were later told they would be taken to an airport in Paris and another plane would fly them on to Rome.

Philip Baum, professor of aviation security at the University of Coventry, said the industry "faces multiple bomb threats every single day" but he had been "surprised" by this week's incidents.

A flight is diverted "only when the threat is credible and the authorities believe there is a potential of explosive device on board", he said.