Plane 'terror alert': Muslim passenger's innocent call to his dad grounds flight

Airline Transavia revealed last night (Friday) that the previous evening, at around 21.10, a man of Arab origin was reportedly heard to say “Allah-u Akbar,” or 'God is great' – which, although it is a standard call to prayer and expression of worship, has been hijacked by ISIS terrorists who announce it before they stage attacks.

This time, the traveller under scrutiny had said this purely as part of saying goodbye to his father before hanging up.

The passenger was overheard by a non-Arab speaking traveller who panicked and alerted the cabin crew, who called emergency services.

Armed Guardia Civil officers boarded the plane, checking passengers, their ID and all luggage and cabin bags at least twice, and fully investigated the Muslim traveller to check there was 'nothing suspicious about him'.

Police commented favourably on the passenger's attitude to the situation, saying he was very amenable and cooperative and understood their concerns.

Even though officers stressed repeatedly that there was 'nothing out of order', the captain chose not to take off and the flight was cancelled.