NICOSIA, Sept 12: Frightened British tourists stopped an airliner taking off from Cyprus on Sunday night after a Muslim passenger triggered a security scare by spending too long in the toilet.

Passengers in an uproar forced the plane to turn back while it was taxiing for takeoff to Manchester, England. There were 230 people on the plane operated by private carrier XLA.

“The appearance and behaviour of two individuals roused suspicion and then the pilot refused to continue with them after the reaction from the other passengers,” police spokesman Demetris Demetriou said.

State radio reported they were Pakistani in origin.

“All I saw was a couple of Arab looking gents with white skullcaps. What became suspicious is one went to the toilet and went for a long time. He was in the loo for about 10 minutes,” one British passenger who identified himself only as Chris, 45, told journalists.

Mr Demetriou said the men were questioned and nothing was found against them. The luggage of the aircraft was also checked and nothing suspicious found.

The flight left Cyprus on Monday, without the two passengers who departed on a different aircraft, police said. —Reuters