Alert on flight to Riyadh, passengers evacuated in Madrid

“It’s just another hoax that all airlines are subjected to”, a Saudia spokesman told Reuters when asked about the incident.

Passengers on a jet set to leave Madrid for Saudi Arabia were evacuated following a bomb threat, Spanish media has reported.

“It’s false but we must do all the necessary precautionary formalities”.

The SVA Flight 226 was scheduled to depart at 10.54am but remains on the ground.

Passengers on a flight to Riyadh from Madrid were evacuated today after a note threatening a bomb attack was found inside the plane in what was later confirmed as a hoax.

Aena said they had later downgraded the alarm from general to local, meaning the alert would not affect other flights.

Police sources are reporting that the alert was declared after a note was found pinned to the wall of the toilet with a knife, on which was written “in English “bomb threat”. The plane was taken to an isolated part of the airport for inspection.

“Security forces and rescue services are mobilized”.

The Saudi Airlines plane was quickly was diverted to a secure area of the airport, where the 97 passengers and 15 crew members were evacuated, El Mundo reports.