Flight Delayed Over An Hour After Crew Wrongly Accuses Passengers Of Stealing Phone

A Wizz Air flight from London to Tirana was delayed for nearly an hour and a half after cabin crew wrongly accused passengers of stealing a security guard's phone, sparking chaos on board.

The flight, scheduled to depart from London Luton Airport at 3:10 PM on Friday, was halted after the airline staff claimed CCTV footage showed a passenger taking the missing phone. According to a report by People, the crew informed passengers that the flight could not take off until the phone was found.

An announcement made before departure said, "We know the phone is on board. We cannot depart knowing there's something that does not belong to this flight. This is a security issue."

One passenger, a 28-year-old who requested anonymity, criticised the handling of the situation, saying, "You'd think airports would be more secure and this would be resolved swiftly. You're not even safe at Luton airport, somewhere you assume is a safe space."

Nearly an hour later, another announcement urged the alleged culprit to come forward voluntarily, warning that CCTV footage was still being reviewed. Police were eventually called onto the aircraft to assist with the investigation.

However, after a long standoff and no phone recovered, the crew finally admitted that there was no missing item on board. "There's no item on this plane. We're happy now with our security position to go," the crew told frustrated passengers, before resuming preparations for takeoff.

The flight ultimately departed with a delay of 88 minutes.