Back to Earth: The unruly passenger was restrained by the crew after allegedly striking a cabin crew member. — Reuters
FIGHTER jets escorted a Singapore Airlines plane to land at the city-state’s international airport Changi after a passenger had made a bomb threat, Singapore authorities said.
A 37-year-old male passenger on board the flight from San Franciso had claimed there was a bomb in his hand luggage, a statement from the defence ministry said yesterday.
The bomb threat was subsequently found to be false, it said, adding the suspect had been arrested and police were continuing their investigations.
A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines said all other passengers and crew had disembarked normally at 9.20am, declining to give further details on the incident.
The man was restrained by crew members and later arrested for making false threats of a terrorist act and for suspected drug consumption.
“Singapore Airlines can confirm that an unruly passenger allegedly hit a cabin crew member and made a bomb threat on board flight SQ33,” a spokesperson for the airline said.
On Facebook, the city-state’s defence ministry said that the army’s bomb squad and airport police determined the passenger’s claims were false.
The air force had previously scrambled fighter jets to escort commercial airlines after bomb threats in 2018 and 2019. — Agencies
