A Somali man has been arrested after allegedly threatening to blow up a plane set to leave for Cape Town.
Panic spread on board the Lift Airline flight from Johannesburg on Friday night, after a passenger noticed the 34-year-old suspect sending a text message suggesting he was ready to detonate a bomb.
A 31-year-old Johannesburg mom, who asked not to be named, says they got a skrik when they heard there was possibly a bomb on the plane.
“The woman sitting next to him saw him send a text about the plane ready to take off and that he was ready to do the explosion,” the shaken woman tells the Daily Voice.
“She went to one of the air hostesses and I just saw him shaking. The next thing the police and sniffer dogs were being called in and the plane was evacuated. We saw them taking away four Somali men away.”
A video of the drama, which was recorded by one of the passengers, has been circulated on social media.
National police spokesperson, Brigadier Vish Naidoo, confirms the arrest but says three of the men were released.
“It happened on a flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. One of the passengers saw a text message where the word explosion was used and the cabin crew was informed,” says Naidoo.
“The police attended the scene and it was established that three of the men did not have anything to do with the message.
“A search was conducted and no explosives were found. The suspect gave an explanation which we cannot divulge, but he was charged under the Civil Aviation Act and the 34-year-old man will appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court today.”
Lift CEO and Co-Founder, Jonathan Ayache, confirms there was a false bomb threat.
“As soon as we were informed, we implemented our emergency response plan and asked all passengers to disembark the plane. In cases like this, safety of our crew and passengers is our number one priority and we take all necessary precautions,” says Ayache.
“As soon as SAPS arrived on the scene, they performed an initial sweep of the aircraft and nothing was found.
“The bomb squad was also called out and performed a second full sweep with a K9 unit and again, nothing was found.
“As an extra safety precaution and to minimise further delays, passengers were transferred to an alternate aircraft to complete their journey,” he says.