Singapore jets escort plane after bomb hoax

Two Singapore fighter jets were scrambled to escort an incoming passenger plane over a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax, officials said on Monday.

There were 144 passengers on board the Scoot flight TR385 from Cebu in the Philippines on Sunday when police were alerted to a security threat, reports the BBC.

Scoot is a low-cost airline owned by Singapore Airlines.

A 13-year-old unidentified male passenger was allegedly behind the hoax. He is currently assisting police with the investigations, said the reports.

A spokesman from Scoot told The Straits Times that all 144 passengers and six crew members onboard the plane landed safely on Sunday evening at Changi Airport.

On March 26, a Singapore Airlines flight from Mumbai landed safely at Changi Airport after the pilot raised a bomb threat alert. A woman and child were held back for questioning by the police.

In October 2018, a 41-year-old man was fined $4,500 after joking that he had a bomb in his bag. He was on a Scoot flight.

--IANS

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