A
passenger on board a Lagos bound Aero aircraft suspected to be of a
strange character caused a bomb scare at the Port Harcourt International
Airport on Friday, after he attempted to disembark from the plane which was at
the point of taking off.
The passenger’s action rose the
suspicion of others on board who thought he had planted a
bomb in the plane, a reason he had to struggle to disembark before the plane
could take off.
Trouble started when the suspect insisted
he must disembark, damning all pleas by hostesses, a development which prompted
the captain’s immediate intervention.
The captain, Mrs Ebele Okay, according to
officials of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), resolved to call
for arrest of the odd passenger who was described as haggard looking to
douse tension in the plane.
The captain, in addition, asked every
passenger on board to disembark for a second round of screening as part of
measures aimed at restoring the confidence of all passengers already booked for
the 3.00 pm flight to Lagos.
The incident resulted in the Lagos
bound passengers numbering 150 wasting several hours. The Aero
airline was initially booked for departure at 12.00pm, before the flight hour
was shifted by the management on weather condition.
But while the suspected passenger was
arrested for interrogation and screening by security officials, the
other passengers stood their ground not to board the plane
again.
Sensing that the passengers’ action may
disrupt the airline’s opreations for the day, a combined team of FAAN
officials, police airport security, the anti-bomb unit and the Aero Airline management
moved to address the passengers with assurances that proper screening had been
conducted on every department of the plane and baggages of every passenger.
Mrs Ebele, who addressed the aggrieved
passengers, said what had happened was a normal occurence at the airport,
contending that the resolve by the captain of the Aero plane to call for a more
thorough screening of passengers was in order and in the interst of all.
Source: Tribune
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