A Ryanair flight from Porto, Portugal, to Brussels South Charleroi Airport was grounded on Tuesday morning following a bomb threat made while the plane was still in the air.
Flight FR6313 landed safely just before 11 a.m. local time. Authorities immediately shut down the runway and suspended all airport operations as a security perimeter was established around the aircraft.
A total of 166 passengers were initially ordered to remain onboard while emergency services and police assessed the situation. The plane was moved to a separate area of the airport for safety.
Nathalie Pierard, spokesperson for the airport, stated that a 500-metre security perimeter was in place and confirmed that passengers would only be evacuated once police deemed it safe. Disruption to other flights is expected to be minimal as the threat occurred during a quieter period of the day.
Ryanair later confirmed all passengers had been safely disembarked and that the aircraft was being cleared for return to service. Authorities have not released details about the origin or nature of the threat, and the investigation is ongoing.