A Dubai-bound Emirates flight with 356 passengers and crew on board was on Sunday grounded for about four hours at the airport here following a terror alert after which a couple was detained by police for questioning.
Emirates Airlines flight EK 505 Mumbai-Dubai was grounded following the alert and a man and a woman were detained, the police and the airline said in a statement in Mumbai. 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 by the name Shahbaz Khan 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 Shahbaz was a terrorist."
Emirates Airlines 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".
A senior police officer said, "The male passenger is Shahbaz Khan. Shahbaz and his wife were detained. Since the woman is a heart patient, she has been sent back home. We are questioning Shahbaz". No detail about the interrogation was available.
The flight was delayed for around four hours as full security procedures were activated including the deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers and baggage, Emirates said.
"The airline is extending full co-operation during this period. After receiving clearance from the ATC, the aircraft has departed Mumbai with all remaining passengers. Emirates regrets the inconvenience caused," it said.
After the alert, the aircraft had pushed back for the runway at 0959 hours when the Air Traffic Control (ATC) informed MIAL about a security hazard on board, a Mumbai International Airport spokesperson said.
The plane was taxied to Tango Bay at 1047 hours. All the passengers were deplaned and a thorough checking of the passengers and luggage was carried out by the security agencies. The flight took off at 1404 hours for Dubai. PTI
