Following an email bomb threat sent to authorities, a plane carrying hundreds of pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia for the Hajj was diverted in Indonesia on Tuesday, according to the country’s aviation body.
Indonesia’s airport operator reported a bomb threat “sent by an unidentified person via electronic mail,” according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
According to a statement, the email, which was sent at 7:30 am (0030 GMT), threatened to “blow up” Saudia Airlines flight SV 5276, which was traveling from the Saudi city of Jeddah to the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
After ten in the morning, the pilot changed the plane’s destination from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta to Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, which is located in western Indonesia on the island of Sumatra.
The flight was carrying 442 hajj pilgrims, including 207 men and 235 women, it added.
The pilot chose to reroute the landing to the closest airport after recognizing security and safety risks, according to Indonesia’s airport operator, In Journey Airports.
The plane was still in Medan, according to a transport ministry official who told AFP, and Flightradar24 confirmed this. According to the aviation body’s statement, the pilgrims were evacuated from the airport, and a bomb disposal crew searched the aircraft for explosives.
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