Bomb threat grounds SIA flight in Johannesburg

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight was grounded in Johannesburg’s airport in South Africa on Tuesday following a bomb threat. The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) confirmed it received a call from someone claiming that there was a bomb on Singapore Airlines Flight SQ478, which was scheduled to fly from Johannesburg to Cape Town on Tuesday morning. “The aircraft landed at OR Tambo (International Airport). Emergency services were activated, along with fire and rescue and the South Africa Police Service,” it said. Acsa added that the police with K-9 units swept through the aircraft, and did not find any bomb. In response to queries from The Straits Times, a SIA spokesman said: “All 58 passengers and 15 crew disembarked the aircraft safely, and supplementary security checks were conducted. SIA also assisted the authorities with their investigations.” The aircraft was declared safe. It left Johannesburg at 12.37pm local time and arrived safely in Cape Town at 2.29pm, about five hours behind schedule, the SIA spokesman added.<br/>