Officials said the information involved “a suspicious person traveling on the ship.” A police spokesman said the plane was being escorted back to the Greek capital’s Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport by two Hellenic Air Force F-16 fighter jets. Flight EK-210 returned 45 minutes after takeoff and landed around 10:00 p.m. local time, the spokesman said. The flight was carrying 228 passengers and 18 crew members. Greek media reported that US authorities alerted Greek police to the presence of a “suspicious person” on the plane. Earlier yesterday, another Emirates flight to Dubai was not allowed to take off from Athens airport and all passengers were also screened for security reasons, but nothing suspicious was found, police sources added. This flight took off after a five-hour delay. An Emirates spokesperson confirmed both incidents. “Emirates can confirm that flight EK210 from Athens to Dubai on November 10 returned to a stand before take-off,” the spokesman said in a statement emailed to AFP. “Flight EK209 from Athens to Newark on November 10 also made an unscheduled return to Athens due to security checks requested by the authorities,” they added, saying passengers were rebooked to travel today and provided an overnight stay.
