After yelling at other passengers and demanding that they land in Sydney, a Malaysian Airlines passenger named Mohammed was apprehended. The guy became angry and threatened the other passengers, prompting the jet to return to the ground. His suitcase was checked by the flight crew, who discovered nothing suspicious.
Onboard, Mohammed screamed that everyone, including him, was “slaves of Allah.”
Back in Sydney, the jet landed at the end of a runway just before 4 p.m. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) apprehended the 45-year-old man at about 7 o’clock
Once it was determined that it was safe to do so, an evacuation was ordered, and the remainder of the plane’s occupants were taken to safety.
A passenger on the aircraft reported on Twitter that they were in a lounge after getting off the plane. The message said further notice, the police will be conducting interviews with everyone.
The confrontation between the passenger and the air steward was captured on camera by another passenger. He captioned the video, “Sydney Airport is suffering at the hands of this madman.”
A second passenger claimed that the plane had to make an emergency landing in Sydney because of the menacing behavior of one passenger. A second plane’s pilot informed passengers that their departure from Melbourne to Sydney would be delayed by at least two hours. According to a tweet sent by a passenger on the Malaysia Airlines aircraft, the airport has been placed under restriction.
When the jet returned to Sydney at 3:47 p.m., the AFP had been alerted to meet it after it had originally departed at 1:40 p.m. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) was on the scene of the incident at Sydney Airport. Due to the incident, 32 domestic flights had to be canceled (16 arriving and 16 departing), while other domestic flights experienced delays of up to 90 minutes. There have been no reports of canceled foreign flights.
Malaysia Airlines has always placed a premium on the well-being of its employees and customers. They had emergency trucks parked at the end of the runway next to the aircraft, which can carry anywhere from 250 to 406 passengers.
After officials boarded the plane, passengers were promised they would be bused to the airport, but now they’ve reportedly been isolated in one section of the plane.
