BOMB THREAT FORCES DIVERSION OF HAJJ PILGRIMS’ FLIGHT IN INDONESIA
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By: Sefiu Ajape
A plane carrying hundreds of Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia was diverted in Indonesia on Tuesday following a bomb threat sent via email, according to the country’s aviation authority.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation confirmed it received a report from the national airport operator about a bomb threat issued by an unknown individual through electronic mail.
The threat, received at 7:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT), warned of an attempt to “blow up” Saudia Airlines flight SV 5276, which was en route from Jeddah to Jakarta.
Shortly after 10:00 a.m., the pilot redirected the flight to Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, on the island of Sumatra, instead of its original destination, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta.
The aircraft was carrying 442 Hajj pilgrims—207 men and 235 women—at the time of the incident.
“Upon identifying security and safety threats, the pilot decided to divert the landing to the nearest airport,” said In Journey Airports, Indonesia’s airport operator.
A transport ministry official told AFP the plane was still in Medan and Flightradar24 showed the plane there.
The airport evacuated the pilgrims and a bomb disposal unit swept the plane for explosive devices, the aviation body said in its statement.
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