POLICE are investigating a false bomb threat made to a flight due to arrive at Gatwick.

A threat that was reportedly made to the Turkish Airlines flight has been established as a hoax, say police.

It was "swiftly" found to be fake after police swarmed around the plane once it arrived at the airport.

Police say they worked with management and air traffic control to ensure the incident was resolved safely.

A spokesman said: "On Sunday 19 December we received a report of an apparent bomb threat that had been made to a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul that was due to arrive at Gatwick.

"The aircraft arrived safely into Gatwick at 9.20am to a remote area of the airport while emergency services attended.

"It was swiftly established that the call did not relate to a genuine threat, everyone on board left the aircraft and passengers went on their way.

"We worked with Gatwick Airport management and with air traffic control to ensure the incident was resolved quickly and safely and there was minimal impact on the normal routine of the airport."

An investigation into the hoax threat is now underway.

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