Passengers, crew evacuated from flight after bomb hoax

Published February 5, 2016
MADRID (spain): A Saudi Arabian Airlines flight remains isolated at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas airport after evacuation of 97 passengers and 15 crew members following a bomb threat on Thursday.—AFP
MADRID (spain): A Saudi Arabian Airlines flight remains isolated at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas airport after evacuation of 97 passengers and 15 crew members following a bomb threat on Thursday.—AFP

MADRID: Spanish authorities evacuated all passengers and crew from a flight bound for Riyadh at Madrid’s Barajas international airport on Thursday after a bomb threat, which the airline later said was a hoax.

The Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) flight was grounded before take off after the pilot noticed a note with a bomb threat onboard, Spain’s interior minister, Jose Fernandez Diaz, said in parliament. A spokesman for Saudia said the threat was a false alarm and the airline was taking all the necessary precautionary formalities. “It’s just another hoax that all airlines are subjected to,” he said.

Spain’s airport operator Aena said they had downgraded the alarm from general to local, meaning the alert would not affect other flights and the airport would continue operating as normal.

Flight SVA 226, which had been due to leave with 112 passengers and crew and was seen at the airport with the inflatable ramps extended and fire and security services nearby, has since been isolated while the investigation is carried out.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2016

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