An American passenger jet flying from Australia to Los Angeles returned to Sydney International Airport today after crew found a note carrying a bomb threat, Australia’s transport minister said.
United Airlines said flight 840, carrying 246 passengers, turned around “when an object which raised some security suspicions was found on board”.
“As a precaution, the captain immediately returned to Sydney landing without incident at 5.50pm (8.50am Irish time). Further investigations will be carried out,” United Airlines said.
Transport Minister John Anderson told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio the object was a note carrying a bomb threat. He said an investigation would immediately be launched.
The jet was 90 minutes into the flight when the pilot made the decision to return to Sydney, an airline spokesman said.
The flight landed in a secure section of the airport and was surrounded by security forces.
Channel Ten TV news reported the incident was classified as a Category Three emergency – the highest type ever at the airport.
NSW Fire Brigades and the NSW Ambulance Service had a number of vehicles on the scene, and police closed roads leading to the airport.
Anderson said the note carried "some words that implied that there might have been a bomb on board".
He said the plane was being searched but no bomb was immediately found.
There were no immediate reports of anybody on the flight being arrested.
Over the weekend, a group claiming to be a European affiliate of al-Qaida warned it would turn Australia into “pools of blood” if Canberra did not withdraw its troops from Iraq. Australia has nearly 900 military personnel in and around Iraq.
Australian media reported the note was written on an air-sickness bag found in or near one of the aircraft's toilets.
Flights in and out of Sydney, Australia’s busiest airport, were briefly halted during the emergency, Anderson said.
“The first point to make is everyone is safe and flights in Australia are now resuming,” he added. “Things are returning to normal.”
He said the plane was being searched but no bomb was immediately found.
“It is my hope that it is a hoax but we don’t run those risks. Safety comes first,” Anderson told Sydney radio station 2GB. “It does say something though about the sick minds that we occasionally have to deal with,” he added.
The flight was rescheduled to fly to Los Angeles tomorrow morning.