An apparent bomb threat led to a Jetstar Japan A320 making an emergency landing this morning, with passengers exiting the aircraft via the emergency slides.
The Japan Times reports that a man phoned Narita Airport and claimed to have put 100 kilograms of plastic explosives in the aircraft’s cargo hold.
The A320-232, JA14JJ, was reportedly carrying 136 passengers and six crew members.
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— yuuta yamada (@dayamatayu) January 6, 2023
“A Jetstar Japan flight travelling from Tokyo (Narita) to Fukuoka diverted to Chubu Airport, landing normally at 7:41am local time today after a potential security incident,” the airline confirmed.
“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 to get them on their way as quickly as possible. Jetstar Japan is also working closely with Chubu Airport and local authorities to investigate the situation.”
Reuters reports that all flying is now suspended at Chubu Airport in central Japan.
It comes after two unscheduled landings were made in the past few weeks by Qantas A380s travelling from Sydney to London.
The first made an emergency landing in Baku when a sensor light alerted pilots to the possibility of smoke in the cargo hold days before Christmas.
The aircraft turned around above Tbilisi, Georgia, before touching down in Azerbaijan.
Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku has one of the longest runways in the area and is a popular choice for aircraft to make emergency landings. It was met there by emergency services.
Investigations later revealed no evidence of smoke, meaning the incident was due to a fault with the sensor and a false alarm.
Qantas dispatched a recovery flight, which landed in the British capital on Christmas Day.
The grounded aircraft, VH-OQH, was later deemed safe to fly and returned to commercial service days later.
Earlier this week, a second aircraft then made an unscheduled landing in Athens overnight after a passenger was taken “critically unwell” onboard and reportedly received CPR.
The aircraft, VH-OQJ, departed Sydney for London via Singapore at 5:54pm on 2 January and was due to arrive in the British capital at 6:15am the next day, local time, before being diverted to the Greek capital.
