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Handwritten bomb threat caused United flight diversion to Ireland
A United Airlines transatlantic flight was diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland after a bomb threat.
Irish police confirmed a message was found inside the plane, which was flying from Rome to Chicago.
Media in Ireland reported that the message was found in the bathroom of the Boeing 767-330 and that handwriting samples have been taken from passengers.
Flight UA971 had 207 passengers and 11 crew members on board.
All were forced to deplane at Shannon at about 14:15 local time on Monday.
In a statement, United Airlines said: "After assessing the situation our crew made the decision to divert to the nearest available airport.
"Additional security screenings will be performed on all customers and baggage, and we will work to get customers on their way to Chicago as quickly as possible."
The flight is scheduled to leave Shannon on Tuesday at 15:00 local time.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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