Singapore Airlines passenger arrested after allegedly making bomb threat; fighter jets scrambled
The bomb threat was subsequently verified to be false, MINDEF said.
.jpg?itok=VOC0F6V9 "Singapore Airlines passenger arrested after allegedly making bomb threat; fighter jets scrambled")
A Singapore Airlines plane on the tarmac at Changi Airport in Singapore on May 13, 2022. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
SINGAPORE: Police arrested a 37-year-old man on a Singapore Airlines flight after he allegedly assaulted cabin crew and claimed he had a bomb in his carry-on bag, the police said on Wednesday (Sep 28).
In response to queries from CNA, police said it was alerted at 2.40am to an alleged bomb threat on board flight SQ33 from San Francisco to Singapore.
The man was restrained by the crew, and police subsequently arrested him for making false threats of terrorist acts and for suspected consumption of controlled drugs.
Singapore Airlines said the "unruly" passenger allegedly hit a cabin crew member.
The plane landed safely at Changi Airport at about 5.50am, under the escort of Republic of Singapore Air Force F-16C/D fighter jets, police said.
The aircraft was then taxied to a remote bay for security checks and the passenger was handed over to airport police, Singapore Airlines said. After the security checks were completed, the aircraft was towed to Terminal 3.
Data from air traffic tracking website Flightradar24 shows the plane circling before its descent towards Singapore. No delay in arrival was indicated, with a flight time of 16 hours and 25 minutes recorded.
Personnel from the Airport Police Division and the army’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defence Group were on site to investigate the passenger's claims, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
The bomb threat was subsequently verified to be false, MINDEF said.
All passengers and crew disembarked normally at 9.20am, the airline said.
"Singapore Airlines apologises to all affected customers for the inconvenience caused by this incident. We are assisting our customers with the rebooking for any onward connections that they may have missed," the airline said.
"We are assisting the authorities with their investigations and regret that we are unable to provide further details."
Police investigations are ongoing.
