A woman passenger was removed from a plane after she smuggled a dog on to a London-bound British Airways flight from Israel.

She managed to get the teacup-sized Yorkshire terrier past security at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport — which prides itself on having just about the strictest anti-terror measures in the world.

BA Flight 166 had taxied as far as the runway on Sunday night, March 3, when a passenger alerted both cabin and crew that there was a dog on board.

The pilot turned the plane back to the stand. The passenger who reported the dog’s presence apparently had heard a squeaking noise from under a seat.

BA staff questioned the woman, believed to be American, then after some discussion removed her, the dog and her luggage from the plane.

One passenger said: “People are concerned about the security implications. How on earth did she manage to get a dog through security at Ben-Gurion?”

The dog owner was occupying a window seat, and it was the passenger next but one to her who raised the alarm. Cabin crew had already given passengers their safety briefing when the dog was discovered.

The captain announced that the woman had been removed after a dog was found in her bag.

A British Airways spokesman said the passenger would have passed through all the relevant security and immigration points at Tel Aviv.

She said: “We did not allow a female customer to travel on board our service from Tel Aviv to Heathrow today after it was discovered, shortly after boarding, that she was carrying a small dog in her handbag.

“We apologise to our customers who experienced a delay to the departure of their flight as a result of this incident.”