Hoax terrorist threat delays Vueling flight from Barcelona to Tel Aviv

A Vueling flight from Barcelona to Tel Aviv that was supposed to depart on Monday night was delayed for hours after several passengers received a suspicious message right before takeoff.

The incident, which was first reported by ElNacional.cat and confirmed by Catalan News, involved a photo that was Air Dropped to a number of people onboard featuring the following text: "Do not grieve; indeed, Allah is with us."

Vueling staff immediately notified Civil Guard police who evacuated the plane. A search for explosives with sniffer dogs came up empty, allowing officers to determine that the messages were in fact a hoax terror threat.

Although the flight could have taken off later that same evening, Vueling decided to keep it on the ground until Tuesday morning. 

A spokesperson for Vueling told Catalan News that the company has additional safety measures in place for flights to Israel. 

Police are yet to identify who sent the messages.