Passengers forced onto the tarmac in NYC after unspecified threat to a British Airways plane

PASSENGERS arriving at a US airport on a British Airways flight from London were forced to line up on the runway after an unspecified threat was made against the aircraft.

Passengers were led from the plane and their bags were searched on the tarmac. Picture: FOX

AN unspecified threat to an arriving British Airways flight forced the evacuation of a plane at Newark Liberty Airport on Thursday afternoon, but no suspicious items were found in the plane or in passengers’ luggage, officials said.

The plane carrying 206 passengers and 13 crew members arrived from London at approximately 1pm local time and was taken to a remote area of the airport, where a canine team conducted a search of the cabin and cargo area.

Passengers said they weren’t aware of the threat until they landed.

Breaking: Brit Air passengers have bags searched for possible bomb b4 cleared to customs EWR @NBCNewYork pic.twitter.com/XShXRZalp3

— Brian Thompson (@brian4NY) June 2, 2016

“The entire flight down, nobody knew anything until we were already on the ground and there,” said Sean Fitzgerald, a passenger from New Jersey.

“That’s when the pilot came over the intercom and told us what was going on, and he basically said there was a threat that was called in and they had to do some security measures.” Passengers disembarked and stood on the tarmac as their bags were checked, 15 people at a time, said Caroline Stafford, a passenger from London.

@cnn plane being evacuated on the tarmac at Newark pic.twitter.com/1G4CqP00wU

— Alex Betenson (@AlexBetenson) June 2, 2016

“It was really terrifying but at least there were police cars waiting for us,” Stafford said. “They knew about it so the security measures were in place when we got there.”

British Airways did not comment directly on the incident but said the safety of its passengers and crew is its top priority.