AFP searched Tokyo flight passengers after Sydney airport threat

Armed Australian Federal Police officers met passengers arriving at Sydney Airport on All Nippon Airways flight NH899 from Tokyo on Thursday night, November 5, after a threat was sent to an airport just after 6pm, according to abc.net.au. The AFP conducted precautionary searches, and passengers remained aboard the grounded aircraft for about an hour and a half.

Passengers waited aboard the Tokyo flight

Patrick Wild and his wife were among those held on the plane. Wild told abc.net.au that he only realised there might have been a similar incident after reading news about threats overseas. The AFP said the safety and security of Australian airports, passengers and staff was its priority. Authorities had not confirmed whether the Sydney incident was connected to the European threats.

European threats disrupted flights across several countries

The alerts affected flights in different ways. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw made an unscheduled landing in Vienna, DW reported. Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia—from Copenhagen, Madrid and London Stansted—landed under high alert; two reached Sofia and one diverted to Plovdiv. Finnair said two flights landed at their scheduled destinations amid security alerts, including a Helsinki-to-Rome flight that arrived with a military escort. These responses disrupted journeys even when aircraft reached their planned airports.

The European incidents followed other threats earlier in the week. DW reported that Tuesday’s threats had turned out to be hoaxes, although they had prompted diversions and major security mobilisations. National investigations into Thursday’s incidents were ongoing. EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it was “too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked.” The Sydney threat’s sender and motive had not been identified in ABC’s account.