A bomb threat grounded a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight at Johannesburg's airport in South Africa on Tuesday.
The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) confirmed receiving a call from someone stating that Singapore Airlines Flight SQ478 from Johannesburg to Cape Town on Tuesday morning was carrying a bomb.
"The plane landed at OR Tambo Airport" (International Airport). Emergency services, including fire and rescue and the South African Police Service, were activated," it stated.
Acsa stated that police K-9 units conducted a sweep of the aircraft and did not detect any explosives.
In answer to questions from The Straits Times, a SIA representative stated, "All 58 passengers and 15 staff members departed the aircraft safely, and further security checks were done." Moreover, SIA supported authorities in their investigations."
The airplane was deemed safe to fly. It departed Johannesburg at 12:37 local time and landed in Cape Town at 2:29 local time, about five hours after schedule, according to the SIA spokesperson.
In October 2022, a 37-year-old American was issued a harsh warning after saying there was a bomb on board a San Francisco-to-Singapore-bound SIA flight. In September 2022, he was one of 208 passengers on flight SQ33.
His false report prompted the deployment of Republic of Singapore Air Force fighter planes, which escorted the aircraft to a distant Changi Airport position.
The Airport Police Division, Special Operations Command's K-9 Unit, and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Explosives Defence Group of the Singapore Armed Forces were mobilized to investigate the danger. This resulted in a delay of more than four hours before passengers could disembark.
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