EDIT: SYD-ABX, orriginal article was in error
Man arrested after Virgin flight evacuated on landing at Albury airport in NSW
PASSENGERS on a Virgin flight from Sydney to Albury have jumped from the plane onto the tarmac after being told by cabin crew to “get out and run, run, run” as soon as the plane landed.
A passenger on the 8.05am flight told AAP that passengers were urgently evacuated as soon as the plane landed at Albury Airport on Tuesday morning.
The doors of the plane were “ripped off” from the outside by authorities and passengers were told to leave their luggage and jump about 1.2 metres from the front exit onto the tarmac.
A man, who was a passenger on the 68-seater turboprop, was arrested on the tarmac and taken away by police.
NSW Police confirmed there had been an incident at the airport.
“As soon as we landed the cabin crew started yelling ‘Get out, run, run, run’,” the passenger told AAP.
He said the passengers were assembled on the tarmac and police then arrested a man wearing a red jacket and red hat.
“The man didn’t seem to resist the arrest.”
Police asked the passengers if anyone had any issues with the man and spoke to the people who had been seated near him.
The arrested passenger was said to be calm throughout the flight and got up and went to the bathroom once.
News Corp Australia understands the man left a threatening note in the bathroom, which was found just prior to landing at 9.35am.
The contents of the note are under investigation but it is believed to have contained a bomb threat.
Virgin Australia has provided reassurance there was never any danger to those on board.
A spokeswoman said a full search of the aircraft was conducted by local police and the plane cleared of any potential danger.
“The matter is now in the hands of the NSW Police,” she said.
The incident comes less than a week after a Malaysia Airlines’ flight was forced to return to Melbourne after a man demanded to see the pilot and threatened to explode a device he claimed was a bomb.
Passengers restrained the man, and removed the device, a bluetooth speaker, from his possession.
The A330 landed safely, but passengers then had to wait 90 minutes for police to board and arrest the man, who had recently been released from a psychiatric hospital.
The wait has been criticised by aviation experts who said getting passengers off the plane should have been the first priority after landing.
Michelle McNamara, who works for a car hire company in the airport terminal, said plain-clothed police, uniformed officers, firefighters and ambulance crews closed off half the terminal during the operation.
“It’s normally quiet, it’s Albury Airport,” she told AAP.
“It’s a bit concerning. With all that’s happening in the world it makes you think the worst.”
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