News24 | Flight to Joburg delayed for hours after bomb threat at Cape Town airport

A FlySafair flight to Johannesburg was grounded at Cape Town International Airport after a bomb threat. (Mlungisi Louw/Volksblad/Gallo Images)

• A Cape Town flight was delayed for several hours on Thursday due to a bomb threat.
• Passengers disembarked safely and the plane underwent a thorough sweep.
• Operations have since resumed.

A FlySafair flight to Johannesburg was grounded at Cape Town International Airport after a bomb threat was reported on Thursday evening.

But by 22:00, the aircraft, which was meant to depart at 17:25, was declared safe and normal operations resumed.

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) said that a police bomb squad was deployed to the airport on Thursday after the crew of a departing FlySafair flight FA102 "was alerted to a possible security threat aboard the aircraft".

Passengers disembarked safely, and a thorough sweep of the aircraft was carried out.

The aircraft was declared safe, according to ACSA spokesperson Thea Govindsamy. Passengers boarded a different plane, which departed at around 22:30.

READ | Eight flights affected by hoax bomb scare at OR Tambo - ACSA

FlySafair chief marketing officer Kirby Gordon confirmed the incident and referred News24 to the police for further details.

"I can confirm that it was one of our flights that was affected by this incident. Unfortunately, there's not much more we can talk to beyond that. You'll need to reach out to SAPS for the details. Once it's reported and protocol is activated, we and our customers, are all in their hands from that point forward," Gordon said.

The police had not responded to News24 by the time of publication. Their response will be added once received.

ACSA said the "reported security threat was an isolated incident triggered by comments made by two passengers aboard the aircraft".

"It must be made clear that the incident was isolated to a specific aircraft and SAPS have since declared the aircraft safe," ACSA said in a statement.

"We can confirm that two suspects were apprehended, and that there are no further risks to airport operations. Airport management on site would like to assure passengers and stakeholders that operations at Cape Town International Airport have not been impacted by the incident and that the airport is operating as normal this morning."

ACSA regional general manager Mark Maclean added: "We would like to praise the airline for their prompt response to what was a serious security concern, and we also laud the combined efforts of the SAPS and Aviation Security (Avsec) team in upholding the safety and security of passengers and cabin crew."