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Etihad Airways flight to Islamabad forced to land following bomb threat

An Etihad Airways passenger jet made an unscheduled landing in Karachi on Wednesday after a note warning of a bomb on board was found in the toilet.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 16:05 October 15, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
  • The plane with around 190 passengers on board was en route from Abu Dhabi to Islamabad.

Karachi: An Etihad Airways passenger jet made an unscheduled landing in Karachi on Wednesday after a note warning of a bomb on board was found in the toilet.

Etihad flight EY231 from Abu Dhabi to Islamabad with 193 passengers and 14 crew onboard landed safely in Karachi at 12:13pm Abu Dhabi time (14:13pm Karachi time), where it was met by local airport authorities and the passengers disembarked safely and without incident.

The Airbus A330 aircraft was cleared for departure after a thorough search by the Pakistani police force.

Earlier, a Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Pervez George said the plane was taken to an "isolation bay" at the end of runway in Karachi.

In a statement, Etihad said the passengers will be flown later this evening from Karachi to Islamabad.

Iain Burns, a spokesman for Etihad said: “The safety of our customers is of paramount importance and the pilot's thorough training led to his correct decision to divert the aircraft to Karachi and thankfully, the note was found to be a hoax after the authorities searched the plane thoroughly.

“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused and we thank them for their patience, calmness and understanding.''

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