Suspected threat halts Aeroflot flight

Suspected threat halts Aeroflot flight

A Bangkok-Moscow flight by the Russian airline Aeroflot failed to take off from Suvarnabhumi airport on Saturday morning after its captain alerted authorities of a possible threat.

Suspicions arose after a Turkish passenger uttered what sounded like his last words, authorities said on Saturday. Authorities were investigating the actions of a man and two women, Thai media reported.

Authorities declined to give specifics of the threat on Saturday afternoon.

Chula Sukmanop, director-general of the Airport Department, said ground control staff were informed of the incident, which prompted the pilot to halt the plane on the taxiway at 10.15am.

The pilot then brought the Boeing 777-300 back to an isolated parking spot 25 minutes later. All 322 passengers and 15 cabin crew later disembarked.

Airports of Thailand president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said the captain had asked for a recheck of all passengers and their belongings on the flight. The passengers were taken by bus to Gate B9 to wait for checks to be completed.

Suvarnabhumi airport director Sirote Duangrat confirmed at 3pm that no suspicious objects had been found on the passengers or in their baggage. He expected the flight to leave at 3pm.

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