Bomb hoax sends EgyptAir plane back to Saudi Arabia

Cairo: An EgyptAir passenger plane had to return to Saudi Arabia shortly after takeoff due to a bomb threat, Egyptian media reported.

The aircraft was on a flight to Cairo from the Saudi eastern city of Dammam early Friday when it received an alert of the bomb threat.

In response, the plane returned to the Dammam airport and landed safely, the national carrier said.

“After security inspection of the plane by the Saudi authorities, the threat was found to be false,” an EgyptAir official said.

The plane later took off from Dammam heading to Cairo, the official added.

The aircraft landed at Cairo airport about five hours behind schedule due to the hoax, according to Egyptian media.

There was no immediate word on the number of passengers on board.