SAMUT PRAKAN: A Swedish passenger claimed to have a bomb in his luggage on Bangkok Airways' Bangkok-Koh Samui flight PG145 at Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday afternoon.
An explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technician inspects a plane at Suvarnabhumi airport. Sutthiwit Chayutvorakan
Authorities cleared the plane and the searches caused the flight to be delayed by about five hours.
The pilots informed traffic controllers of the bomb threat on the aircraft, which was originally set to take off with 140 people at 1.45pm.
Sirote Duangratana, general manager of the country's main airport, said the pilots implemented emergency procedures after the Swedish man, who had already boarded, made the bomb claim.
All 140 crew members and passengers were evacuated and taken to a rescue station on the eastern side of the airport for body and baggage searches.
Bomb experts, security officials, firefighters, rescue workers and medical personnel were mobilised to handle the situation, officials said.
As the searches turned up nothing suspicious, airport management terminated its emergency response at 5.50pm.
The flight was rescheduled to take off at 6.30pm. The Swedish passenger was still being detained and questioned at the time of going to press.