A Jetstar Japan flight heading to Fukuoka from Tokyo’s Narita airport made an emergency landing on Saturday following a bomb threat.
The plane landed at Chubu Centrair International Airport approximately 30 minutes into the two-hour flight where 136 passengers and six crew members were evacuated.
No explosives were found after Chubu airport police searched the cabin and luggage on board the flight.
Simple Flying reported that the threat was made by a person speaking English, who claimed to have placed a 100-kilogram bomb in the cargo area of the Airbus A320.
In a statement, Jetstar confirmed the incident:
“A Jetstar Japan flight traveling from Tokyo (Narita) to Fukuoka diverted to Chubu Airport, landing normally at 7:41am local time today after a potential security incident. Out of an abundance of caution, passengers disembarked via emergency slides. We know this would have been distressing for passengers, and thank them for their cooperation.
“Our teams are supporting them and working on getting them on their way as quickly as possible.
“Jetstar Japan is also working closely with Chubu Airport and local authorities to investigate the situation.”
Five passengers sustained injuries while evacuating the aircraft. Footage on social media showed passengers exiting the plane via emergency slides in the middle of the runway.
中部空港にジェットスター機が緊急着陸 爆破予告の情報 警察
NHKが空港に設置しているカメラの映像では、午前8時ごろ、滑走路に止まった機体から緊急脱出用のシューターが出ているのが確認できます。https://t.co/sDMaJ69YSh#nhk_video pic.twitter.com/1Q7cfEMU50
— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) January 7, 2023
The airport briefly closed its runway due to the incident, causing delays to the days operations, although the shut down only lasted a couple of hours.
Jetstar Japan is based in Tokyo Narita International Airport and was launched in 2012. The airline serves routes across the APAC region, using its fleet of Airbus A320 planes.
The airline is a subsidiary of Jetstar Airways, which is jointly owned by Qantas, Japan Airlines and Tokyo Century Corporations.
Featured Image: Twitter/@nhk_news
