A FlySafair flight bound for Johannesburg was grounded at Cape Town International Airport on Thursday evening following a bomb threat.
Initially scheduled to depart at 5:25pm, the aircraft was declared safe by 10pm, and normal operations resumed.
Also read: Lwandle police investigate double murder at Enkanini shebeen
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) reported that a police bomb squad was dispatched to the airport after the crew of FlySafair flight FA102 ‘was alerted to a possible security threat aboard the aircraft.’
Passengers disembarked safely, and a thorough sweep of the aircraft was conducted.
According to ACSA spokesperson Thea Govindsamy, the aircraft was declared safe.
Passengers then boarded a different plane, which departed at around 10:30pm.
FlySafair Chief Marketing Officer Kirby Gordon confirmed the incident: ‘I can confirm that it was one of our flights that was affected by this incident. Unfortunately, there’s not much more we can talk to beyond that. You’ll need to reach out to SAPS for the details. Once it’s reported and protocol is activated, we and our customers, are all in their hands from that point forward.’
ACSA stated that the ‘reported security threat was an isolated incident triggered by comments made by two passengers aboard the aircraft.’
They emphasised that ‘the incident was isolated to a specific aircraft and SAPS have since declared the aircraft safe.’
‘We can confirm that two suspects were apprehended, and that there are no further risks to airport operations. Airport management on-site would like to assure passengers and stakeholders that operations at Cape Town International Airport have not been impacted by the incident and that the airport is operating as normal this morning,’ ACSA added.
ACSA Regional General Manager Mark Maclean said, ‘We would like to praise the airline for their prompt response to what was a serious security concern, and we also laud the combined efforts of the SAPS and Aviation Security (Avsec) team in upholding the safety and security of passengers and cabin crew.’
Also read:
Thabo Bester pleads for death penalty in emotional court appearance