Biman flight lands safely at HSIA amid bomb threat
No explosives found
FE REPORT | Thursday, 23 January 2025
A flight of the Biman Bangladesh Airlines originating from Rome touched down safely at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) following a bomb threat on Wednesday.
All 250 passengers and 13 crew members aboard the plane were safely evacuated. However, no bombs or bomb-like objects were found after a thorough search on the baggage of the passengers and on the aircraft at HSIA.
"We received a bomb threat from an unknown number for Biman's Rome-Dhaka flight. The flight landed at 09:20 am. All 250 passengers and 13 crew members disembarked safely from the aircraft," HSIA Executive Director Group Captain Kamrul Islam said in a brief note. Biman's flight BG-356 took off from Rome on Tuesday night.
At a press conference, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Air Vice Marshal Md Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan said APBN control room at HSIA received the information about the bomb threat at 4:37 am on Wednesday from an unknown Pakistani WhatsApp number.
Upon receiving the information, the CAAB engaged in message exchanges with the informer but received no response to calls. The CAAB, however, took action immediately in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and deployed security forces at HSIA.
They also informed the authorities of Biman Bangladesh Airlines about the update and communicated with the captain of the aircraft when it was in flight.
After landing, the aircraft was taken into a security cordon immediately by the security agencies.
It was then moved to the parking area of the third terminal to ensure that landing and takeoff are carried out normally.
Mr Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan further said that landing and takeoff at HSIA and immigration crossing of passengers didn't get hampered during the search at the aircraft.
"All the passengers, their baggage and luggage and the aircraft were searched. As nothing was found, the 'security threat' was cleared at 12:30 pm.
After regular checks, all passengers left the airport by 1:30 pm."