On Monday, August 14, a video went viral on social media wherein a man onboard a Malaysian Airlines flight threatened to blow up the plane if his co-passengers and cabin crew members did not submit that they were Allah’s slaves.
Due to the inconvenience caused by the passenger, who identified himself as Mohammad, flight MH122, which was bound for Kuala Lumpur had to return to Sydney, Australia. The flight was carrying 194 passengers and five crew onboard. Post landing back in Sydney, the man was arrested by the Australian Federal Police.
A Malaysian Airways flight MH122 was landed in Sydney after a man named Mohammed threatened the flight with a bomb. He insisted that he was a slave of Allah & asked everyone to confirm their submission as a slave.
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) August 14, 2023
He was later arrested on landing and taken for the treatment. pic.twitter.com/E4xSgoJ6I2
The viral video shows the passenger standing in the aisle. He is wearing a light blue T-shirt and a backpack on his chest. He threatens the passengers and the cabin crew by pointing at them and saying, “My name is Mohammed, the slave of Allah,” he said while demanding that other passengers also repeat the same. “Are you a slave of Allah, say it, say it,” he is heard saying.
A Malaysian Airways flight MH122 was landed in Sydney after a man named Mohammed threatened the flight with a bomb. He insisted that he was a slave of Allah & asked everyone to confirm their submission as a slave.
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) August 14, 2023
He was later arrested on landing and taken for the treatment. pic.twitter.com/E4xSgoJ6I2
The passenger reportedly went on to threaten to blow up the plane. Media reports suggest that later, the crew members onboard the flight checked his backpack and found no explosives in it.
In a statement, Malaysian Airlines addressed the return of the flight back to its base and said that the flight was turned around due to a “disruptive passenger onboard”.
“In the interests of safety, the commander of the flight made the decision to return to Sydney.”
“The flight, carrying 194 passengers and five crew onboard, landed safely at 3.47 pm hours. The safety and comfort of our crew and passengers are of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines,” they added.
“The safety and comfort of our crew and passengers are of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines. The aircraft will be thoroughly inspected by the police. Passengers will be transferred to the next available flights after obtaining clearance from the authorities,” the airlines said.
Without providing specifics regarding the alleged offence, Australian Federal Police stated in a statement that they responded to an “emergency incident” at the airport and that the man was arrested and will face charges on Monday night.
Media statement – Sydney International Airport incident update. A passenger on an international flight from Sydney to Malaysia has been arrested by the AFP. Read more: https://t.co/iukECXyQ2R
— AFP (@AusFedPolice) August 14, 2023
“The AFP will not divulge operational matters, however, an emergency response plan was enacted and an evacuation was initiated once it was deemed safe for passengers and crew,” the AFP said in a statement.
The plane was parked on the end of a runway hours later with emergency vehicles nearby, Nine News reported.
As a result of this afternoon’s incident, there have been 32 domestic flights cancelled (16 inbound + 16 outbound), with delays of up to 90mins for other domestic flights.
— Sydney Airport (@SydneyAirport) August 14, 2023
Currently no international flight cancellations.
Passengers are encouraged to check with their airline…
Meanwhile, Sydney Airport took to X, formally Twitter, to announce that as a result of the incident, 32 domestic flights were cancelled, and other domestic flights faced a delay of up to 90 minutes. No international flights were cancelled.
