Dubai-bound flight held back, couple detained
Dubai-bound flight held back, couple detained
Mumbai: A Dubai-bound Emirates flight with 356 passengers and crew on board was on Sunday grounded for about four hours at the airport following a terror alert, after which a couple was detained by police for questioning.
Flight EK 505 was grounded following the alert and a man and a woman were detained, the police and the airline said in a statement. The plane later left for its destination after security clearance.
The flight was grounded after a caller, who identified himself as Suresh Chavan, alleged that one of the passengers on board was an Al Qaeda terrorist, police said.
It said, “Chavan had called the cargo supervisor of the Emirates flight claiming that he overheard someone saying that the passenger was a terrorist."
Emirates said it “can confirm that its flight EK 505 (Mumbai-Dubai) was called back by Mumbai’s air traffic control before departure. A male passenger and his wife have been handed over to the local Mumbai police authorities for questioning".
The flight was delayed for around four hours as full security procedures were activated, including deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers and baggage, Emirates said. The flight took off shortly after 2pm.
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