Etihad flight diverted over security threat

Dubai - Etihad Airways flight EY042 from Dublin to Abu Dhabi was diverted to land at Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai.

An Eithad Airways flight flying from Dublin to Abu Dhabi was diverted following a security threat onboard.

The EY042 flight was diverted to land at the Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai on February 10. Passengers were asked to disembark the plane upon landing and had to go through additional security screening.

An Etihad spokesperson confirmed the incident to Khaleej Times and said in a statement, "Etihad Airways flight EY042 from Dublin to Abu Dhabi on 10 February 2017, was diverted to land at Al Minhad Air Base in Dubai, following a security threat onboard.

"The crew completed all necessary inflight checks as per procedure, with no abnormalities found, then followed the authorities' instructions to undergo further security checks at the air base.

"Upon disembarking, the guests, baggage and aircraft went through additional security screening which took several hours. Throughout this process, the guests were accommodated in the airbBase and were provided with refreshments. Guests then boarded police-escorted buses to Abu Dhabi airport to be processed through the terminal.

"The majority of transferring guests were re-booked on morning flights (11 February 2017) and were offered overnight accommodation in Abu Dhabi."

However, some passengers expressed their frustration on social media.

Chandu Seshadri posted on Twitter, "@EtihadAirways no proper accommodation. There could be genuine reason for security checks, but the passengers are troubled a lot here. #Etihad."

Claire Eaki tweeted, "So emergency landed Abu Dubai in military airbase Dub on way Australia. Flight security landed #middleeast #flight #etihad disaster."
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai