A Scoot flight from Singapore to Perth was forced to turn back on Thursday, Oct. 12 after a passenger claimed he had a bomb in his bag. The 30-year-old Australian man was arrested by the police after the plane landed safely at Changi Airport.
The flight, TR16, took off at 4:11pm and was about an hour into its journey when the bomb threat was made. Two fighter jets from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) were scrambled to escort the plane back to Singapore.
The plane entered a holding pattern over the South China Sea for about 50 minutes before flying over Batam and landing at Changi Airport at 6:26pm. Several other flights to Singapore, including Singapore Airlines flight SQ331 from Paris and United Airlines flight UA29 from San Francisco, were also put in holding patterns over the Riau Islands. They were only able to land after TR16 had touched down.
The Scoot passengers were evacuated and the police conducted a security check on the plane.
No explosives were found.
“The police take security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against those who intentionally cause public alarm,” police said, as quoted by Channel News Asia.
The Australian man is being investigated for criminal intimidation.
Scoot, a low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, said it was assisting the authorities with their investigations. The airline apologized for the disruption and inconvenience caused to its customers and crew.
As the investigations continue, more details about the bomb threat are expected to emerge.
