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File photo Chris Radburn
EasyJet

Flight to London delayed after woman claims man had "messages related to Isis" on his phone

Both are being questioned.

AN EASYJET FLIGHT from Vienna to London was halted just before takeoff today because a passenger believed the man sitting next to her might be an Islamic extremist, authorities said.

“The woman believed that she saw messages related to IS (Islamic State) on the man’s mobile phone,” Austrian interior ministry spokesman Karl-Heinz Grundboeck told AFP.

The woman alerted cabin crew, security staff were called, the takeoff was cancelled and all passengers and all their luggage were taken off the plane for checks.

“Nothing was found however, and the aircraft has since taken off, but without either the man or the woman. They are now being questioned,” Grundboeck said.

The man is an Iraqi citizen, he added. It was unclear what the woman’s nationality is. The incident comes amid heightened security in Europe following Tuesday’s bombings in Brussels, which were claimed by IS.

© AFP 2016

Read: Murder of Belgian man in charge of security at nuclear facility was “not linked to terror”

Read: Brussels March Against Fear cancelled amid security concerns

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