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Garuda plane delayed by London bomb threat lands safely in Jakarta
Delayed: Travellers sit and wait at London's Gatwick Airport's North Terminal, Saturday Nov
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span class="inline inline-left">Delayed: Travellers sit and wait at London's Gatwick Airport's North Terminal, Saturday Nov. 14, 2015, after the north terminal at Gatwick Airport was evacuated as a precaution after authorities found a suspicious article. Police described the evacuation Saturday as a precaution, but the incident comes at a time of heightened concern in Britain in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)
Garuda Indonesia has resumed a flight from London to Jakarta after all international flights were suspended as security forces detained a man accused of bringing a bomb and firearm to Gatwick airport in the British capital.
The airline's station manager at the airport said that the man was arrested while checking in on the first floor of North Terminal at around 10 p.m. local time in London.
After the suspicion of airport security forces was aroused, all of Garuda's staff and all passengers in the airport were temporarily evacuated.
Garuda's plane GA89, the aircraft bound for Jakarta via Amsterdam, was parked 800 meters from the check in area -- where the incident happened.
'After the situation was brought under control, our plane managed to resume the flight from London to Amsterdam smoothly, safely, and then landed in Jakarta airport 30 minutes ahead of schedule,' Garuda vice president of corporate communication Benny S. Butarbutar told Thejakartapost.com.
The Garuda flight, carrying around 100 passengers, was finally given clearance to depart after the authorities inspected all aircraft scheduled to leave from Gatwick, Britain's second busiest airport.
European countries are on high alert after Paris was struck by the deadliest violence that has happened on French soil since World War II.
The coordinated gun and suicide bomb attacks in Paris have taken 129 lives and left 352 others injured according to the latest reports.
