TUI has confirmed there was ‘a security-related event’ on board its flight from Senegal in the early hours of yesterday.

A passenger posted on Linkedin to say the plane was met by armed police when it landed at London Gatwick Airport.

They said some passengers onboard had received apparently bogus bomb threats on their mobile phones.

It is believed the messages had been sent by another passenger on flight TOM753 using the iPhone Airdrop feature.

However, the Boeing 737 MAX continued from Dakar to Gatwick where it landed roughly on time, just after midnight on Tuesday.

Disembarkation was delayed while police boarded the aircraft and interrogated passengers.

Some passengers were allegedly arrested following questioning.

A TUI spokesperson said: “We can confirm that there was a security related event on board the TOM753 on the 2 January 2023. 

“The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our highest priority, and on this occasion, it was determined that the aircraft could continue its journey to London Gatwick Airport.

“We take all security matters of this nature extremely seriously and will continue to assist the Police with their investigation.

“Our TUI team met customers when the flight landed to offer any additional support with we’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by the delay to disembarkation.”