SriLankan Airbus returns after bomb scare

by Kumarasiri Prasad

A SriLankan Airlines Airbus A340 on a flight to London Heathrow returned to Colombo last afternoon after the control tower was informed that the aircraft was "under threat".

"The Airport duty manager received a call from a woman that the flight was under threat. They contacted the control tower, which instructed the captain to turn back," a SriLankan Airlines official told the Daily News.

Flight UL 501 took off on time at 1345 hrs with 257 passengers and 15 crew on board. It was at cruising altitude (11,000 metres) and nearly 40 minutes into the 11-hour flight when it was recalled following the anonymous call, which later turned out to be a hoax.

The plane reached the Bandaranaike International Airport around 1450 hours and the passengers were quickly evicted from the plane in an orderly manner without any incident.

Air Force and Airport and Aviation Services security personnel rushed to the aircraft as soon as it landed at a separate apron.

The passengers were screened for any explosive devices and transferred to a separate waiting lounge. After being given an all-clear, they were later sent to London on another aircraft. The baggage as well as the aircraft itself was swept for explosives by experts from the Air Force.

No trace of explosives was found in the search. Other flights operated normally and all operations at the BIA proceeded as usual.

This is the second such instance in which a threatening telephone call disrupted flight operations from Colombo in as many months. A Sri Lankan woman was killed and several others were injured on September 8 when passengers were evicted through the emergency chutes of a Saudi Arabian Airliner which was requested to abort its take-off following a bomb threat. It turned out to be a hoax.