Saudia pilot triggers false hijacking alarm as plane lands in Manila
Passengers, who were forced to remain on the plane for about two hours, were reportedly not told about the nature of the emergency
A pilot of a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight accidentally pressed an emergency alarm, creating a hijack scare and triggering a major security response at Manila airport on Tuesday, authorities said.
Police isolated and surrounded the Saudia flight after it landed on Tuesday afternoon following a report to the control tower that the plane was “under threat”, a Philippine aviation authority spokesman said.
Hundreds of passengers aboard the Boeing 777 flight from the Red Sea city of Jeddah were forced to remain on the plane for about two hours, but were let off about 5:00pm local time after it was confirmed there was no threat.
“Situation is normal. It was alleged that the pilot pressed the emergency light of the aircraft unintentionally,” Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde told reporters.
When we saw the armed men we thought: ‘what’s the problem?’ We wanted to know what was happening
In Saudi Arabia, an airline spokesman also said there was no security threat.