A 45-year-old man has been arrested after an alleged bomb threat that caused a Malaysia-bound flight to turn back to Australia.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH122 had left Sydney about 1:06pm on Monday but turned back while over the north-west of New South Wales in what police described as an “emergency”.
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Passengers posted videos of a man allegedly threatening and ranting at cabin crew and fellow passengers.
Some passengers have described it as one of the scariest moments of their lives.
“My name is Mohammed, slave of Allah,” the man said. “Are you a slave of Allah? Are you? Say it! Say it! Are you a slave of Allah?”
According to a statement released by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the 45-year-old man was arrested, and passengers were removed from the plane safely.
AFP spokesperson said the man was expected to be charged.
“There is no impending threat to the community,” the spokesperson said.
This incident caused 32 domestic flights to be cancelled and dozens of others to be significantly delayed.
In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said: “In the interests of safety, the commander of the flight made the decision to return to Sydney.
“The flight, carrying 194 passengers and five crew on board, landed safely at 3.47pm.
“The safety and comfort of our crew and passengers are of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines.”
Ilya Vlasov, a passenger on the plane, told ABC that the handling of the situation was a “total mess”.
“I’m on MH122 now and have zero idea where the hell is the police … there is zero sign of security forces around. Is their plan just to wait till he falls asleep?”
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