TOKYO: A Japan Airlines flight to the US with over 250 passengers and crew on board was aborted due to a bomb threat which reportedly demanded the release of a notorious criminal, the airline said yesterday.
The carrier said it received an email that warned a bomb was planted inside the plane less than two hours after the Boeing 777 left for New York on Wednesday.
Jiji Press news agency reported yesterday that the email demanded the release of Shoko Asahara, the mastermind behind the 1995 Tokyo subway gas attacks, which killed 13 and injured thousands.
The plane, which took off around noon local time Wednesday, was ordered back to Narita International Airport as it was flying over the Aleutian island chain in the north Pacific, a company official said.
“The plane had departed after security checks but we decided to call it back after consultations with the police,” he added. — AFP