Aircraft with 442 Passengers Diverted Due to Security Alert
- Authorities confirm email warning claimed a bomb on board.
- Pilot opted to reroute plane after potential danger was flagged.
- Passengers evacuated while experts checked for bombs.
An aircraft returning from Saudi Arabia with hundreds of Hajj pilgrims had to divert in Indonesia on Tuesday. This happened after somebody sent an email to authorities claiming a bomb threat, stated the Indonesian aviation authority.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Indonesia’s airport operator reported receiving the threat in an email sent by an unknown sender.
An email sent at 07:30am (0030 GMT) warned of a threat to “blow up” Saudia Airlines flight SV 5276 traveling from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, according to a statement.
At around 10:00am, the pilot changed course redirecting the plane from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, located on Sumatra island in western Indonesia.
The plane had 442 Hajj pilgrims onboard, made up of 207 men and 235 women, the statement confirmed.
“InJourney Airports, which operates airports in Indonesia, stated that the pilot changed the landing to the closest airport after noticing security and safety risks.”
An official from the transport ministry told AFP the aircraft remained in Medan, and Flightradar24 confirmed its position there.
Authorities evacuated the passengers, and a bomb squad searched the plane to check for any explosives, according to the aviation authority’s statement.
