SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) has confirmed that there was a bomb threat concerning flight SQ001, which originated from San Francisco and arrived at Changi Airport on Sunday afternoon (Nov 22).
In a media statement, SIA said that the matter was referred to the authorities. “We regret we are unable to provide details, as it concerns security,” it said.
The plane landed safely at about noon, but disembarkation was delayed until around 1.30pm. Passengers then had to wait for nearly two hours to collect their baggage.
Passengers were calm, although not much information was given by the airline, one of them told TODAY.
“We were held on the tarmac … for about 20 minutes. The captain then made the announcement that the gate was changed,” said Mr Hoe, who declined to give his full name.
“We were then parked at some remote area near the airport, and no further information was given, apart from waiting for air traffic control instructions.
“At approximately 1.10pm, the captain made the announcement that the plane will be held on the tarmac, and we would be ferried to the terminal by airport bus due to security concerns.
“I thought the captain was handling the situation well. No one was panicking on board. We actually didn’t know anything, and everyone thought it was just a normal delay until the announcement was made at 1.10pm. Everyone still remained calm.”
-TODAY/al
That means staff of SIA are well trained on how to handle critical situations like this.