Bomb hoax on Bangkok-Samui flight

Bangkok Airways' plane serving flight PG145 is kept at an isolated parking stand on the eastern side of Suvarnabhumi airport pending searches after a bomb threat on Tuesday afternoon. (Photos by Sutthiwit Chayutvorakan)

SAMUT PRAKAN - A Swedish passenger claimed to have a bomb in his baggage on Bangkok Airways' Bangkok-Koh Samui flight PG145 at Suvarnabhumi airport Tuesday afternoon. Searches cleared the plane and delayed the flight by about five hours.

The pilots informed traffic controllers of the bomb threat on the aircraft, originally set to take off with 140 people at 1.45pm.

Sirote Duangratana, general manager of the country's main airport, said the Swedish passenger said on the plane that a bomb was inside his baggage and the pilots decided to implement emergency procedures.

All the 140 crew members and passengers were brought off the plane to a rescue station on the eastern side of the airport for body and baggage searches.

Bomb experts, security officials, firefighters, rescue workers and medical personnel were mobilised to handle the situation.

As the searches found nothing suspicious, the management of the airport terminated its emergency response at 5.50pm.

The flight was rescheduled to take off at 6.30pm. The Swedish passenger was detained and questioned.