A British Airways B777 aircraft was forced to cancel its takeoff clearance and evacuate all passengers onboard after airport authorities received a bomb threat.
Flight BA 158 had been cleared for takeoff from Wade International Airport (BDA) in Bermuda bound for London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) on the evening of May 5, 2024.
Shortly after receiving clearance, air traffic control (ATC) communicated to the flight that it had received information regarding a bomb threat.
In the voice communication between the ATC tower and the plane, which was uploaded to X (formerly Twitter) by LiveATC, a British Airways pilot can be heard replying: “Okay, cancel takeoff clearance.”
ATC is later heard stating that they were on the phone with an airport duty officer who reported that they had received an email claiming there was a bomb onboard the flight.
The control tower then instructed flight BA158 to move to an isolated area for passenger evacuation.
Passengers were then rapidly evacuated using stairs through the forward left door of the B777 aircraft, registered G-VIIN.
One of the evacuated passengers captured video footage of passengers standing on the runway after disembarkation, with the aircraft just meters away.
The all-clear was given after a thorough search was conducted by authorities and all passengers were reported to be safe.
The flight was delayed overnight and departed the following day.
British Airways told Caribbean News Network: “The safety of our customers and colleagues is always our highest priority and we followed our standard procedures to disembark the aircraft.
“Our teams are caring for our customers and supporting the crew as we work to get them on their way as soon as possible.”