Police are questioning a 60 year-old UK man after a bomb threat was made on a Sri Lankan Airlines flight this afternoon.
Passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and the plane stood on the tarmac while the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) searched passengers’ baggage.
The MNDF eventually gave the all clear and the plane commenced its flight to London without major disruption.
Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that the UK man, reported in local press as ‘Clement Paul’, had been handed over to police by the MNDF for questioning “but is not legally under arrest.”
MNDF Spokesperson Major Abdul Raheem earlier told Minivan News that a bomb threat was received by the control tower after a passenger on the aircraft declared there was a bomb on board.
“We checked the entire aircraft and there was no bomb,” he said, adding that the aircraft was soon given the all clear.
An airport official told Minivan News that the MNDF had searched passenger baggage on the airline, but added that there were no disruptions to service and no flights were delayed.
The Sri Lankan Airlines flight took off from Colombo on Monday afternoon and was scheduled to fly to London with 199 passengers.
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