Flights Suspended at Germany’s Stuttgart Airport After Bomb Alert

A so-called “red alert” was triggered at Germany’s Stuttgart international airport Sunday after overheard remarks about blowing up an aircraft at the transport hub up were deemed credible.

Three men were overheard arguing onboard a flight to Bulgaria as it taxied to the runway Sunday, with remarks about blowing the plane up relayed to cabin crew by other passengers.

Counter-terror police and bomb disposal experts attended the scene while flights from the airport were temporarily suspended. Traffic resumed and the plane was cleared for takeoff after officers confirmed there were no explosives onboard, Sunday afternoon.

Germany newspaper Die Welt Am Sonntag  reports that a police spokesman said of the incident: “During the routine departure check-out, a passenger told us that another passenger had threatened a bombing operation on the aircraft.

“In view of the global political situation and the way in which the passenger met us, we had to take the threat seriously.”