Penknife-carrying Briton sparks airport alert
A British man carrying a penknife has slipped through airport safety checks and on to a plane in Egypt causing a massive security alert.
The man, who has not yet been named, hid the knife in a rucksack at Cairo airport and once he was on board the plane told cabin crew he was carrying it, the source said.
All 224 passengers on the flight to London were immediately evacuated from the aircraft and the flight was delayed for over an hour, a British Airways spokeswoman said.
The man later told police that he had pulled the stunt because friends had asked him to test security at the airport, the airport source said.
The penknife went undetected through security gates and the man carried it straight on to the British Airways plane, the source said.
Once seated, the man called over a steward and told him he had succeeded in bringing the knife on to the flight.
The pilot was immediately alerted and evacuated the plane as a precaution, the source said.
The pilot refused to let the penknife man back on the plane, leaving him stranded at Cairo airport.
A British Airways spokeswoman confirmed there had been an incident and said: "Safety and security is an absolute priority for us and as soon as the knife was discovered the plane was cleared."
