Dubai: An Emirates flight from Mumbai to Dubai was held up for four hours at the Mumbai international airport on Sunday after an anonymous caller warned of a suspected militant on board, the airline and Indian media reported.
The flight was called back just before take off, after the caller said a suspected militant, named Shahbaz Khan, was on seat F 17, according to Indian television channels. The call was received by Emirates ground office at 9.30am as the flight was taxiing for take off.
The Emirates aircraft, which had 356 people on board and bound for Dubai, was taken to an isolated bay where passengers disembarked and security personnel detained two people for questioning, the airport spokesman said.
"A male passenger and his wife have been handed over to the local Mumbai police authorities for questioning. The flight was delayed for around 4 hours as full security procedures were activated including the deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers, and baggage," the spokesperson said.
All the 356 passengers on board the plane were immediately deplaned and a thorough security check was carried out inside the aircraft, TV channels reported. The plane was eventually cleared for take off after the security check.
However, Shahbaz Khan and his wife have been off loaded and are being questioned by Mumbai Police, the reports said.
The NDTV news channel reported that the detained man was 70 years old and the anonymous call came from his son.
