Miaa, Saudia: Plane ‘hijack’ false alarm

Passengers of a commercial flight from Saudi Arabia are allowed to disembark after being placed in total isolation at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday afternoon. Jeanette Andrade/INQUIRER

The Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) on Tuesday clarified that the isolation of a commercial airplane from Saudi Arabia at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) was a case of false alarm.

Naia General Manager Ed Monreal said the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SVA 872 mistakenly made a “distress call,” which prompted authorities to conduct security measures.

READ: Saudia plane isolated at Naia runway

Miaa said the captain accidentally pressed the alarm button twice.

A spokesperson for the airline, known as Saudia, also said a false alarm prompted Philippine police to surround the plane at the Naia on Tuesday.

There was a “false alarm for hijack for Flight 872,” the spokesperson said in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The airline gave the same information on its Twitter account, adding that the aircraft had flown to Manila from the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines spokesperson Eric Apolonio said earlier that the plane had been “isolated” on the runway after reports it was “under threat.”

READ: Saudia passengers disembark after plane isolated at Naia runway

As of writing, clearing operations are still ongoing as passengers are deplaning by batches. The plane is carrying returning pilgrims from the annual hajj who should have disembarked by 1 p.m.

Miaa on Tuesday said it received information from the Manila control tower that the flight was “under threat.” YG/rga

The special operations unit of the Philippine National Police aviation security group conducts clearing operations around the isolated Saudia airplane at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Tuesday. JOAN BONDOC/INQUIRER