(MENAFN- The Peninsula) An Air Arabia airliner flying from Kuwait to the United Arab Emirates was diverted to a UAE military airbase on Sunday after a passenger warned the plane was about to explode, the UAE state news agency WAM reported. The aircraft was boarded after landing at the al Minhad airbase by the authorities who resolved the situation using "appropriate standard procedures", the agency reported, without elaborating.
The UAE-based budget carrier said in a statement that Air Arabia flight G9128 from Kuwait to the UAE emirate of Sharjah was diverted following instructions from air traffic control due to an unruly passenger onboard.
The "flight landed safely and the authorities are currently holding the necessary investigation", the statement said. Air Arabia is based in Sharjah, one of seven emirates that make up the UAE. The Al Minhad airbase near Dubai is a hub for US-allied forces in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Kuwait's Consul General in Dubai and UAE northern emirates Thyab Farahat Al-Rashidi said all passengers, including the Kuwaitis, were safe and sound after a false bomb threat forced an Air Arabia airliner to land at a UAE airbase Sunday night. "The security services of the sisterly UAE activated the necessary precautionary measures at Al-Minhad Airbase, some 24 kms. to the south of Dubai, to ensure the safety of all passengers," Al- Rashidi told KUNA. "The passengers were sent back to Sharjah airport," he said, adding that the Kuwaiti consulate follows up the arrangements for rescheduling a flight for the Kuwaiti nationals.
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