Australian Federal Police (AFP) responded to flight MH122, a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330 flight to Kuala Lumpur that turned back to Sydney.
Sydney Airport saidon social media last night that at least 35 domestic flights were cancelled (16 inbound and 16 outbound), with delays of up to 90 minutes for other domestic flights.
The 45-year-old Canberra man was charged early this morning with making a false statement about a threat to damage an aircraft and not complying with cabin crew’s safety instructions.
The AFP said the man had claimed to have explosives on board the plane.
The charge of making a false statement about a threat to damage an aircraft carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and the other charge can result in a fine of over A$15,000 ($16,000), the AFP said.
Passenger Sammi Marks described the man as a “big bloody unit” and praise the cabin crew for their response, saying passengers were left “scared and confused” as the plane returned to Sydney and waited on the tarmac.
“Absolute kudos to the cabin crew. I know they train for this stuff but keeping this guy contained was not easy,” Marks wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
