Jakarta. A Saudia Airlines flight carrying 442 Indonesian hajj pilgrims was diverted to Medan’s Kualanamu Airport on Tuesday morning following a bomb threat sent via email to aviation authorities.

According to the Director General of Civil Aviation at the Transportation Ministry, Lukman F. Laisa, the threat was received at 7:30 a.m. Jakarta time through an anonymous email sent to the state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia. The message claimed that a bomb was onboard Saudia Airlines flight SV 5276, which was en route from Jeddah to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The flight was transporting 207 male and 235 female pilgrims as part of Hajj Group 12 (Kloter 12 JKS).

In response, Soekarno-Hatta Airport activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and convened its airport security committee to coordinate emergency procedures.

“Airport security officials were immediately summoned to the EOC to prepare for bomb threat response protocols,” Lukman said in an official statement on Tuesday.

At 10:17 a.m., AirNav Indonesia reported that the pilot in command notified Jakarta Air Traffic Control (JATSC) of a decision to divert the flight to Kualanamu Airport in Medan for safety and inspection.

Authorities at Kualanamu quickly activated their EOC and summoned their airport security committee to manage the emergency. An elite bomb disposal unit from the Indonesian police was placed on standby at the airport.

The flight landed safely at Kualanamu at 10:55 a.m. and was directed to an isolated parking position. All passengers were safely evacuated, and the bomb squad immediately began sweeping the aircraft for potential explosives.

Emergency procedures followed protocols set by the Transportation Ministry Regulation No. PM 140 of 2015 on Aviation Security Emergency Response and Director General Regulation No. PR 22 of 2024 concerning Technical Guidelines for Aviation Threat Assessment.

“The Directorate General of Civil Aviation continues to coordinate closely with all flight operators, airport security committees, and relevant stakeholders until the situation is fully under control,” Lukman added.

As of this report, no explosives have been found on board the aircraft, and authorities are investigating the source of the email threat.

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