A 45-year-old man was detained after threatening crew and passengers aboard a Malaysia Airlines flight departing from Sydney, Australia bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The plane, which took off at 13:06 (4:06 am in Lisbon), was forced to return to Sydney International Airport around 15:50 (6:50 am in Lisbon) and the passengers were detained. runway for three hours while the federal police arrest the man.
The incident threw Sydney airport into chaos, with 32 domestic flights canceled and dozens more delayed after the airport was forced to switch to single-runway operation. However, the incident is not expected to affect flights on Tuesday, a spokesman said. Sydney Morning Herald.
Several passengers spoke of the fear they experienced on board when a man, bald and with a gray beard, started screaming in the corridors with a backpack strapped to his chest. “My name is Mohammed, the servant of Allah,” the man told the crew.
“In the interests of safety, the captain has decided to return to Sydney. The aircraft with 194 passengers and five crew members landed safely at 15:47. This is of great importance to Malaysia Airlines,” the airline said in a statement. quoted by an Australian newspaper.
Passengers were disembarked from the plane and taken by bus to the main part of the airport, where police interviewed several witnesses.
“The scariest situation of my life,” passenger Sammy Marks wrote on social media.