Thursday, Oct 16, 2008

Abu Dhabi: A bomb threat note found on-board caused Etihad flight EY231 from Abu Dhabi to Islamabad to be diverted to Karachi on Wednesday.

The note was found in one of the aircraft's toilets.

"According to the information we have received, a passenger went into the toilet and found a note and started shouting that there was a bomb on-board," a Pakistan civil aviation official said .

The aircraft, an Airbus A330, had 193 passengers and 14 cabin crew on-board. It landed safely in Karachi at 14.13pm local time.

Local airport authorities helped the passengers and crew to disembark the aircraft safely.

According to an Etihad AirwaysEtihad Airways memo, the Pakistani police force did a thorough search of the aircraft after it had landed. It was cleared for departure shortly thereafter.

The passengers were expected to fly to their original destination, Islamabad, later on Wednesday evening.

Search

"The safety of our customers is of paramount importance and the pilot's thorough training led to his correct decision to divert the aircraft to Karachi, and thankfully the note was found to be a hoax after the authorities searched the plane thoroughly.

"We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused and we thank them for their patience, calmness and understanding," Iain Burns, a spokesman for Etihad, said.

According to reports, the passengers were searched as they disembarked and a bomb disposal team inspected the aircraft. No explosives were found.