Plane carrying 442 people makes emergency landing due to bomb threat

According to Jakarta Globe on June 17, the Indonesian Ministry of Transport received an email threatening a bomb on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight carrying Hajj pilgrims from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) back to Jakarta (Indonesia).

A Saudi Arabian Airlines plane. Photo: Antara.

The Indian Express reported that the plane was carrying 442 Hajj pilgrims (from Depok, West Java) returning to Indonesia after completing the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

The plane was forced to make an emergency landing at Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra (Indonesia), while en route to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near Jakarta.

After the plane landed, a bomb disposal team from the North Sumatra Police and the Indonesian Armed Forces immediately evacuated all passengers and conducted a thorough search of the entire plane, including the passenger cabin and cargo area. However, they found no explosives on board.

Asri Santosa, head of the Medan Regional Airport Authority Office (Indonesia), said the threat was sent in English to Soekarno-Hatta Airport - the flight's intended destination.

"This email originated from Mumbai, India. The Indonesian Ministry of Transport will provide more details as they directly received this threatening email," Asri said.

North Sumatra Police Inspector General Whisnu Hermawan Februanto identified the affected flight as Saudi Arabian Airlines Flight SV-5726. He said authorities were continuing to investigate the incident.

“We will conduct further investigation in Jakarta as the email threat came from abroad,” Whisnu said.

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