Passengers evacuated from Madrid-Riyadh flight after threat

Passengers on a flight to Riyadh that had been due to take off from Madrid were taken off the plane Thursday following an unspecified threat that put the airport on alert, authorities said.

“Security forces and rescue services are mobilised. The plane was isolated and passengers evacuated,” a spokeswoman for AENA, the group that manages airports in Spain, told AFP.

The Guardia Civil police force told AFP they were still unclear as to what the threat against the Saudi Airlines flight was.

The El Pais daily said the alert was raised by a note pinned to the interior of the plane with a knife that read: “bomb threat”.

The SVA 226 flight had been due to take off at 0950 GMT but the captain requested that it be evacuated after the note was found.

The AENA spokeswoman, who refused to be named, said the airport was functioning normally as the plane had been taken to an isolated area where officials were checking it.