An aircraft arriving at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) from Doha was subjected to a special security inspection on Sunday (28) following a hoax threat, police said.
The Qatar Airways flight, which landed at 8.27 a.m. with 245 passengers, was flagged after an email sent to BIA’s official address claimed that four individuals on board were planning an explosion. The pilot later confirmed that there was no security threat.
Despite this, the aircraft was directed to an isolation area after landing, and passengers and crew were disembarked. A thorough inspection was carried out with the assistance of the bomb disposal unit and other security agencies. No suspicious items were found from the search operation and the aircraft was subsequently cleared and departed for Doha at 1.07 p.m.
Police said the incident was a hoax, similar to a false bomb threat reported on December 26 at the Kandy District Secretariat. Preliminary investigations revealed that both electronic messages originated from a foreign country.
The Criminal Investigation Department and intelligence agencies have launched a special investigation to identify those responsible. (NewsWire)
