Details of which UK airport the flight took off from have not been released at this stage. An investigation has been launched into how a fake bomb was put on a cargo plane and flown from the UK to Turkey without being detected.
The UPS flight travelled to Istanbul carrying a suspicious package with a timer, wires and a detonator.
The UK Department for Transport said it was taking the matter “very seriously”.
A Turkish man delivered the package, disguised as a wedding cake box to a UPS office in Camden, north London a fortnight ago, according to ITV News.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We have already begun an investigation which will look at all aspects of this incident, including UPS’s procedures.
“The UK has one of the toughest security regimes for air cargo in the world. All security measures are subject to continuous review.”
A UPS spokeswoman said: “Two weeks ago, a suspicious package travelled within the UPS network aboard an all-cargo aircraft from the United Kingdom to Istanbul, Turkey.
“UPS is co-operating with the UK Department for Transport’s investigation of the incident. UPS has a multiple-layered approach to ensure security.”
Details of which UK airport the flight took off from have not been released at this stage.
Last October a bomb disguised as an ink cartridge was found on a UPS cargo plane at East Midlands Airport.
It had been timed to detonate over the eastern seaboard of the US, police later said, but did not go off.
The bomb, and another found in Dubai, contained at least 300g of the explosive PETN.
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