Australia-Bound Flight Escorted Back To Singapore By Fighter Jets After Bomb Threat

A flight operated by budget airline Scoot was Thursday escorted back to Singapore by fighter jets after a passenger allegedly made a bomb threat, Straits Times reported. About one hour into the flight, "a precautionary decision was made to turn the aircraft back to Singapore due to a bomb threat", Scoot, the budget arm of Singapore Airlines, said in the statement.

In a Facebook post, The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) said two F-15SG fighter jets were activated to escort the Scoot aircraft. This is a usual procedure for such incidents.

The flight, which had 363 passengers and nine cabin crew members, as well as two pilots on board, landed safely about two hours after takeoff. 

''Earlier this evening, two of our F-15SG fighter aircraft were activated to escort a Scoot flight, TR16, back to Singapore Changi Airport due to a suspected bomb threat onboard the aircraft. The flight had departed Singapore and was en route to Perth. Our fighters escorted the airliner till it landed safely at Changi Airport. Team RSAF is always ready 24/7 to keep Singapore's skies safe,'' the post read.

See the post here:

The spokesman for Scoot said: ''The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) was activated to escort the aircraft back to Changi Airport. Emergency services were also activated. TR16 landed safely in Singapore at 6.27 pm where security checks were carried out. Scoot is assisting the authorities with their investigations. As this is a security matter, we regret that we are unable to provide further details. Scoot sincerely apologises for the disruption and inconvenience caused. The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority, and we will continue to provide assistance to our customers.''

After the police finished their security checks, the 30-year-old Australian male passenger was arrested for criminal intimidation. 

''The police take security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against those who intentionally cause public alarm,'' a police spokesman said. 

Singapore's air force previously scrambled fighter jets to escort commercial airliners after bomb threats in 2022, 2019, and 2018, as per an AFP report.