Wizz Air flight boarded by police after travellers 'wrongly accused' of stealing

The flight, W95004, was scheduled to depart for Tirana, Albania at 15:10, but was delayed due to the incident

A Wizz Air flight was grounded at London Luton Airport for nearly 90 minutes on Friday after airline staff allegedly accused passengers of stealing a security guard's mobile phone.

The flight, W95004, was scheduled to depart for Tirana, Albania at 15:10, but was delayed due to the incident. Passengers were informed that CCTV footage appeared to show someone taking the phone in the airport, prompting a search of the plane.

Just before the planned departure time, a cabin crew member reportedly announced: "We know the phone is on board, now we should leave in two minutes – we cannot because of this, this is a security issue.

"We cannot have an item that does not belong to anyone on this flight. We cannot depart knowing that there’s something that does not belong to this flight."

One 28-year-old passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that staff had called the missing phone and told passengers they could hear the plane's announcements when somebody picked up. This led them to believe a passenger on board had swiped it.

"You’d think airports would be more secure and this would be resolved much more swiftly," the unnamed passenger said. "You’re not even safe at Luton airport, somewhere you think is a safe space."

Nearly an hour after the initial announcement, it's understood that a different crew member communicated a change in approach.

They informed passengers that staff were reviewing CCTV footage to identify who was responsible for the issue on board. "We still want to give the chance for this potential person who made the mistake to bring it before they will find it in the video," they reportedly said at the time.

"Once again, please voluntarily come to the front or to my colleagues at the back." As the situation escalated with the missing phone still not found, police officers then boarded the aircraft amidst the growing discontent of the stranded passengers at Luton.

Eventually, after more than an hour's delay, cabin crew addressed announced there was in fact 'no item' on the plane at all. "There’s no item on this plane, we’re happy now with our security position to go," the announcer said.

"I appreciate your understanding for this situation. It is for us as well quite a new one, we’re doing our best and we will be on our way to Tirana very soon."

In light of this, a Wizz Air spokesperson commented: "We are aware of an incident that occurred on a Wizz Air flight departing from London Luton Airport on Friday 25th April which resulted in passengers experiencing a short delay.

"The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our top priority, and we appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience as our team assisted authorities in ensuring a swift resolution to the situation."

Bedfordshire Police has also been approached for comment.

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