A Jetstar flight made an emergency landing at Japan’s Chubu Centrair International Airport on Saturday. A bomb threat caused the potential danger, even though no explosives were found.
The flight from Tokyo’s Narita airport to Fukuoka, in southwest Japan, arrived at 7:41 a.m. (22:41 GMT on Friday). According to the official, the airport blocked its runway until safety was established at 12:15 p.m.
Some flights to and from Chubu airport were cancelled or delayed because of the runway closure. The departure lobby for domestic flights was congested with customers requesting boarding ticket refunds and changing to other planes, according to NHK.
Threat Unfolded
According to public broadcaster NHK, which cited its police sources, the low-cost airline Jetstar received a call at 6:00 a.m. Japan Standard Time, from a person who claimed he had planted a bomb aboard the flight.
NHK confirmed that the Narita airport got a call from Germany in the early morning from a man who said in English that a 100-kg (220-pound) plastic bomb was in the Jetstar flight’s cargo area.
According to the spokesperson, 136 passengers and 6 crew members were on board. The Chubu airport police official reported that five people were injured while evacuating from the plane.
The company declined to comment further, saying:
“Jetstar Japan is working closely with the Chubu airport and local authorities to investigate the situation,”
Danger Zone Evacuated
Jetstar Airways said in a statement that after a possible security problem, the flight was redirected to the Chubu airport in Japan’s industrial heartland of Aichi prefecture, where passengers descended through emergency slides.
Images shared on social media show a Jetstar Airbus A320 with its chutes open and people getting off the plane all around it.
A Chubu Airport spokesperson said:
“Out of an abundance of caution, passengers disembarked via emergency slides. We know this would have been distressing for passengers and thank them for their cooperation.
“Our teams are supporting them and working to get them on their way as quickly as possible.”
A similar cancellation of a Jetstar flight at Narita Airport last year left the passengers stranded.
About Jetstar
Melbourne-based Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd operates Jetstar, a low-cost airline. The Qantas Group is the sole owner of Jetstar Airways, which operates in Australia and New Zealand.
Jetstar Asia Airways is an airline headquartered in Singapore and is managed by Newstar Holdings. The Singaporean business Westbrook Investments owns the majority of Jetstar Asia Airways (51 percent), and the Qantas Group owns the remaining 49 percent.
The Qantas Group, Japan Airlines, and Tokyo Century Corporation are the three companies that have collaborated to form Jetstar Japan.
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