Bomb threat halts Manila flight from Bacolod

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Passengers were forced to deplane a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Manila from Bacolod-Silay Airport in Silay City, Negros Occidental last Sunday due to an alleged bomb threat.

Major Deejay Domingo, chief of Bacolod-Silay Airport Police Station, said the plane was supposed to leave the airport at 10:50 p.m. but was delayed due to a problem in Manila.

Passengers started to board the aircraft at around 11:30 p.m., but Domingo said they received a report regarding the bomb threat, which caused further delay on the said flight, as passengers were advised to deplane.

Domingo said that all iPhone users received a photo via Airdrop from an unknown cellphone user, informing them that “the plane is going to go boom.”

But only one passenger reported it to security as it was sent to him many times, he added.

Domingo said that passengers underwent a second screening of their hand carry bags, while the K9 checked their baggage again at the aircraft.

After about three hours, the aircraft was cleared by authorities, and the passengers were allowed to board the plane again past 2 a.m. on July 3, he added.

He said the passengers on Cebu Pacific flight 5J472 safely landed in Manila, despite numerous complaints about the delayed flight and the procedures they went through again for security reasons.

He said they have coordinated with the cybercrime division to identify or possibly locate the sender, as he believed that the sender might be just at the airport or even a passenger. “May nag trip lang siguro while waiting din,” he added.

Meanwhile, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is hoping that authorities can immediately locate the prankster.

“Obviously, it was a prank. But, every time there’s a bomb threat, may protocol. Everybody goes out in the plane or in the building,” he said.

Cebu Pacific has yet to issue a statement as of this writing.