Published on Sun, Feb 07, 2010 at 14:28
A Dubai-bound Emirates flight was delayed at the Mumbai airport by several hours on Sunday morning after airport officials received a security alert, a spokesman for the Mumbai International Airport said.
The flight, which had 356 people on board including crew, was preparing to take off fromthe runway but was called back after the air traffic control alerted the pilot of a potential security hazard from a passenger on board, the spokesman said.
The flight was taken to the parking bay and all passengers were subjected to further security checks, he said.
All of them have reboarded except two who have been held back for further checks, he said, adding the flight was set to take off shortly.
India has tightened security across its major airports in recent weeks after getting intelligence about a plane hijack threat from militants.
Emirates flight grounded in Mumbai after terror alert call
February 07, 2010 14:07 IST
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/07/emirates-flight-grounded-over-terror-alert.htm
A Dubai-bound Emirates flight with 356 passengers, including crew, on board was grounded in Mumbai after a terror alert call, an airport official said.
The flight EK 505 was grounded after an anonymous call was received saying that there were some suspected terrorists on board the plane, a Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson said. The aircraft had pushed back for takeoff at 0959 hrs when the Air Traffic Control (ATC) informed MIAL about a security hazard on board, the spokesperson said.
The plane was taxied to a parking bay at 1047 hrs. All the passengers were deplaned and a thorough check of the passengers and the luggage was carried out by the securityagencies. One or two passengers have been held back and they were being questioned by the security agencies, the spokesperson added.
According to police, the caller, who identified himself as Suresh Chavan, claimed one of the passengers on board by name Shahbaz Khan was an ‘Al Qaeda’ operative. “The caller identified himself as Suresh Chavan. He had called the cargo supervisor of the Emirates flight claiming that he overheard someone saying Shahbaz was a terrorist,” the police said.
Muslims terrorizing Muslims. That’s ok.
Ping and bumping thread.
Thread Bump.
אמריקה
(America)
The flight, which had 356 people on board including crew, was preparing to take off from the runway but was called back after the air traffic control alerted the pilot of a potential security hazard from a passenger on board, the spokesman said.
Wonder if it was a Kenyan...
thanx for posting and BTTT Ping
Dubai: An Emirates flight from Mumbai to Dubai was held up for four hours at the Mumbai international airport on Sunday after an anonymous caller warned of a suspected militant on board, the airline and Indian media reported.
The flight was called back just before take off, after the caller said a suspected militant, named Shahbaz Khan, was on seat F 17, according to Indian television channels. The call was received by Emirates ground office at 9.30am as the flight was taxiing for take off.
The Emirates aircraft, which had 356 people on board and bound for Dubai, was taken to an isolated bay where passengers disembarked and security personnel detained two people for questioning, the airport spokesman said.
"A male passenger and his wife have been handed over to the local Mumbai police authorities for questioning. The flight was delayed for around 4 hours as full security procedures were activated including the deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers, and baggage," the spokesperson said.
All the 356 passengers on board the plane were immediately deplaned and a thorough security check was carried out inside the aircraft, TV channels reported. The plane was eventually cleared for take off after the security check.
However, Shahbaz Khan and his wife have been off loaded and are being questioned by Mumbai Police, the reports said.
The NDTV news channel reported that the detained man was 70 years old and the anonymous call came from his son.
Actually 356 terrorists on board.