Two arrests at Cape Town airport after bomb scare triggered by passengers

Remarks by two passengers triggered a bomb scare at Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) on Thursday evening, the Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) said on Friday.

Police bomb squad officers were deployed to CTIA shortly after the crew of a FlySafair flight departing to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg were alerted to a possible security threat aboard the aircraft. The aircraft was searched while passengers waited for clearance, before being escorted to another plane.

“The reported security threat was an isolated incident triggered by comments made by two passengers aboard the aircraft,” Acsa said.

“The incident was isolated to a specific aircraft and SAPS have declared the aircraft safe.

“We confirm two suspects were apprehended and there are no further risks to airport operations.”

The affected passengers were rebooked onto another flight and later arrived safely at their destination.

Operations at CTIA are operating as normal on Friday morning.

Acsa regional manager Mark Maclean said: “Last night’s [Thursday] successfully mitigated threat again highlights the importance of why good incident management, collaboration, and security assurance are never taken lightly or compromised by airport and airline management.”

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