Fighter jets scrambled after plane bomb scare

Portuguese fighter jets escorted the plane to its destination after a threatening note was found in the toilet

- ELLIE GOSLEY

A GROUP of friends were caught up in the “surreal” moment a TUI flight from Cardiff Airport was escorted by fighter jets after a bomb scare.

Cheryl Sainsbury and her three friends, Leanne Thomas, Cherie Gurner and Tara Pumford, all from Pontypridd, were looking forward to enjoying a last-minute holiday in Lanzarote when their flight took a turn for the worse.

While flying over Portugal on June 19, around halfway through the almost four-hour flight, the captain came over the radio to say the plane would need to land as soon as possible because there was reports of a “device” on board.

“We were sort of looking at each other thinking, ‘What's he on about’?”, Cheryl, 43, said. “We were all scared, but there was no sense of panic as such on board. Everybody seemed to come together and just looked out for each other. We all wanted to make sure everyone was OK.”

She said the cabin crew from TUI remained calm and “brilliant” with all the passengers. While everyone was told to remain in their seats, the crew looked under the seats and in the overhead lockers to check that all the luggage was accounted for.