A Manila-bound Cebu Pacific Air flight from Dubai, with 430 passengers and 12 crew, today made an unscheduled landing at the Indira Gandhi International airport (IGIA) here due to a medical emergency which later turned into a bomb threat.
Due to this, the plane, an Airbus 330-300, remained grounded for almost 12 hours and the flight could take off only at 4 PM after getting clearance from the security agencies, sources said.
The aircraft, operating as flight 5J-7945, landed under emergency condition at the IGIA here around 4:30 AM after a woman passenger fell sick.
However, when she regained consciousness after getting medical help onboard and the flight was ready to depart at around 8.30 AM, she informed the crew that there was a bomb, leading to the grounding of the plane, they said.
Accordingly, the aircraft was recalled and all due security procedures were followed, they said.
As part of the procedure, all the passengers and crew were off-loaded and also their luggage, which was subjected to extensive security checks, they said.
A bomb threat assessment committee comprising officials from the Bureau for Civil Aviation Security, CISF and airport operators carried out the entire process.
However, the security agencies cleared the flight for departure after they did not find any explosive on the plane following an extensive search of the passengers and crew and their baggage as well as the cargo, they said.
"The woman passenger Jeane T, however, was not allowed to board and has been handed over to the Philippines Embassy officials on a three-day temporary landing permit as she is said to be mentally unstable," sources said.
