© Christophe Gateau/dpa/picture allianceGerman federal police arrived to search the Ryanair flight late on Sunday in Berlin
A Ryanair passenger plane flying between Ireland and Poland made an emergency landing in Berlin on Sunday, German police said.
How events unfolded
The flight with 160 people on board was en route from Dublin to Krakow when it arrived at the Berlin-Brandenburg airport shortly after 8 p.m. (1800 UTC) on Sunday. It remained grounded at the airport into early Monday morning.
Germany's federal police arrived at the scene. They used detection dogs to inspect baggage before it was taken inside the airport.
© Christophe Gateau/dpa/picture allianceFederal police searched baggage before removing it from the flight
Passengers were able to travel on in a replacement plane at around 4 a.m. local time.
Unscheduled landing followed a tip-off
The Irish airline on Monday said it made the unscheduled landing due to information received about a possible security threat on board.
There was a tip-off, an announcement by telephone," a spokesman for the federal police said on Monday. "We needed to rule out that there was any danger," he added.
The incident took place a week after another Ryanair flight was forced to land in Belarus' capital Minsk before authorities arrested a journalist onboard. The forced diversion prompted international outcry and the European Union subsequently urged its airlines to avoid Belarus airspace.
The official reason given for the forced diversion of the Ryanair flight by Belarus earlier in May was a reported bomb threat.
In July last year, another Ryanair plane from Dublin to Krakow was forced to make an emergency landing in London after a false bomb threat.
Comment: The previous Ryan Air grounding was for more concrete reasons: the arrest of a known Belarus opposition figure with neo-nazi connections.
- Belarus accused of 'hijacking' Ryanair flight after bomb threat forces landing in Belarus, EU claims blogger is arrested
- EU leaders agree to close skies & airports to Belarus over Ryanair incident, freeze €3bn investment until Minsk turns 'democratic'
- As anger toward Belarus mounts, remember the US forced landing of Bolivia's plane in an attempt to capture Snowden in 2013
- Roman Protasevich's dramatic arrest by Belarus sparked outrage. But why is Western media failing to report his neo-Nazi links?
- Jailed Belarusian activist Protasevich spent Donbass War with Neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, but was it as a soldier or journalist?
The Duran has an interesting take on Protasevich's situation. Perhaps his usefulness as a Western puppet has come to an end?