Australia has seen its second aircraft evacuation in less than a week due to a bomb threat.
Passengers on a Virgin regional flight from the Sydney to the New South Wales regional town of Albury were told to evacuate the plane after the threat was discovered scrawled on a sick bag in the toilet.
Passengers left the ATR turboprop through the rear door and emergency exits but, contrary to some reports, no doors were ripped off and it is understood crew did not instruct passengers to jump out and “run, run, run’’. That advice is believed to have been shouted by a passenger
Police met the flight as it landed about 9:35am and a man was arrested.
“The main point to make here is that the plane landed at 9:35 am. We had all of the occupants of aeroplane secured and safe within five minutes of it landing,’’ a police spokesman said.
“We’ve completely searched the aeroplane at this stage and our inquiries will continue there.’’
A Virgin spokeswoman confirmed there was “a security incident” on Virgin Australia flight VA1174.
“One passenger is assisting police with their enquiries,’’ she said. “The matter is now in the hands of the New South Wales police.”
Michelle McNamara, who works for a car hire company in the airport terminal, said police, firefighters and ambulance crews closed off half the terminal during the operation.
“It’s normally quiet, it’s Albury Airport,” she told AAP.
“It’s a bit concerning. With all that’s happening in the world, it makes you think the worst.”
The incident comes less than a week after passengers aboard a Malaysia Airlines flight in Melbourne helped deal with an allegedly mentally ill man who shouted he had a bomb and tried to enter the cockpit.
The 25-year-old economy passenger, a Sri Lankan national on a student visa, jumped up just after take-off and made the bomb threats as the plane was about 4kms out from Melbourne airport last Wednesday.
He was brandishing a device now believed to be a Bluetooth speaker.
Police were criticised after the incident for the amount of time it took them to evacuate the plane — about 90 minutes — after it landed.
The plane’s pilots had radioed to say the passenger responsible for the bomb threat had been subdued but police said they were focused on getting everyone safely off the flight.
Victoria Police chief commissioner Graham Ashton said police were worried about the possibility of co-offenders or explosive devices that could be triggered by an evacuation.
