An Australian man, 45, aboard a flight to Malaysia has been charged with making a fake bomb threat causing chaos and disrupting the country’s airspace.
According to authorities, the Malaysia Airlines flight ( MH122) headed to Kuala Lumpur from Sydney on Monday afternoon was forced to make a U-turn after the passenger insisted that he had explosives in his backpack. The man is said to have been arrested upon the flight’s return to Sydney and has been charged with making a false statement regarding a threat to harm an aircraft.
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Reuters reported that the passenger could face up to 10 years in jail for the offense. The airplane was forced to land back in Sydney at around 3.45 p.m. after departing nearly three hours earlier at around 1 p.m. because of the passenger’s disruption. The 45-year-old man is also accused of disobeying a safety instruction given by the cabin crew.
Videos shared on social media show the passenger in question wearing a backpack and threatening people on the flight.
Australian Federal Police reported that they issued an immediate emergency response plan and evacuated those who were on the flight before the passenger was arrested. The aircraft carried 199 passengers and 12 crew members.
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It is reported that 32 domestic flights were canceled as a result of the plane’s return to Sydney, and other aircraft experienced significant delays of as long as 90 minutes. There were however no canceled international flights.
