'False alarm' triggers Saudi plane scare in Manila
September 20, 2016Manila airport suffered a serious security scare on Tuesday after the crew of a Saudi Airlines plane mistakenly pushed the emergency button, triggering a security alert.
Airport officials at Ninoy Aquino International said in a statement that they had received information of a threat when the plane was 30 miles (48 kilometers) away from landing. The threat was widely believed to have been a hijacking incident.
According to Manila's airport manager, Eddie Monreal, the pilot later told the control tower that a button indicating a hijack situation had been pushed by accident.
Flight SV872 was isolated by airport security on Runway 6 upon landing. Passengers were prevented from disembarking for more than one hour.
The plane was travelling from the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah to Manila.
dm/msh (dpa, Reuters, AP)