Passengers on a Malaysia Airlines plane forced to return to Sydney after a man ranted madly about Allah have spoken out about their terrifying ordeal.
Dramatic video showed the man, who said his name was Mohammed, calling himself a ‘slave of Allah’ before challenging other passengers to repeat that they were also ‘slaves of Allah’.
Witnesses said the drama on flight MH122 unfolded about 45 minutes after the Airbus A330 took off when he reached into his bag and claimed it contained something ‘dangerous’.
“I think it would have been quite upsetting for a lot of people. They would be quite traumatized by it. There were kids, babies, it was pretty scary,” said one passenger.
“Then he reached into his bag and took out the Quran.”
He says his name as Mohammed and says he is a ‘slave of Allah’ before challenging other passengers nearby to repeat that they are also ‘slaves of Allah’
Flight crew members then examined the bag and found nothing dangerous in the bag.
The plane landed back in Sydney just before 4pm and was isolated at the end of a runway while the other passengers were moved to another part of the plane.
A 45-year-old man was arrested by Australian Federal Police (AFP) around 7pm and other passengers were safely evacuated from the plane.
The disruption grounded all flights to and from Sydney airport for several hours, leading to widespread travel chaos across the country, which is expected to last for days.
Another panicked woman on board the plane said her children were very scared and kept asking her ‘what’s wrong mom?’.
“We were waiting for that to happen…the police did a great job…they have a protocol they have to follow, I understand, so it’s not easy,” the mother said.
“They did their best, the explosives squad, all those people, but it could have been faster and better.”
“He was clearly mentally disturbed. He went on a rampage and ranted,” said one passenger (pictured).
Fiona Roux (pictured) said the worst part was ‘we couldn’t be told what was going on’
Passenger Tom Ristevski (pictured left), who plans to try to get into Kuala Lumpur again on Tuesday, said: ‘It was frightening’
Kira Burrows (pictured) has given up her planned trip to Malaysia. “I don’t feel like getting on another plane,” she said
Passenger Fiona Roux said the worst part was that ‘we couldn’t be told what was happening, but we knew the plane was turning. We could see it on the screen on board.’
“The commotion was on and off. (It was) not alarming. When I really understood what was going on, it was the landing and the abrupt stop.’
Like many of her fellow passengers, Ms. Roux then turned on her phone and “found out what was really going on” through media reports.
Despite what happened, she plans to fly to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, but fellow passenger Kira Burrows has abandoned her planned trip.
‘I don’t feel like getting on another plane, so my husband picks me up. I’m going home,’ she said.
Ms Burrows said the main problem was ‘not knowing (what happened). The staff was incredible… they tried to keep everyone calm.
“We were just there for way too long in my opinion,” she said.
Passengers who were on the Malaysia Airlines flight are pictured leaving Sydney Airport
Some passengers say they want to fly to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, others have given up their plans
A passenger who was on the flight is pictured talking on the phone as he exits the airport
A disruptive passenger aboard a Malaysia Airlines flight caused it to be turned back after he apparently started yelling at passengers who asked if they were slaves of Allah
The Malaysia Airlines MH122 Airbus-a330 is pictured at Sydney International Airport
The AFP said officers could not move until the plane was deemed safe.
“A contingency plan was drawn up and an evacuation was initiated as soon as it was deemed safe for passengers and crew,” it said.
A video taken on board the plane showed the passenger allegedly causing the disturbance being confronted by an air steward for a bizarre exchange.
A traveler on board the flight captioned the video: “Sydney Airport is suffering at the hands of this lunatic.
Praying for everyone’s safety and well-being. Where is airport security?! It’s been over an hour since the plane landed!!!’
In a second video later, he added: “This madman is getting aggressive and the poor people on board are still waiting for security to come in and take him to Allah through proper procedure.
“Sydney Airport is waiting for what?!”
Another passenger on board the flight also tweeted, “This man should have been stopped at the gate before boarding, his actions were disturbing from the start.”
The traveler on board the flight captioned the video: “Sydney Airport is suffering at the hands of this lunatic
He added: ‘The flight was diverted to Sydney because of a random idiot who started threatening staff and passengers.
In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said: “In the interest of safety, the flight commander has decided to return to Sydney.
The flight, with 194 passengers and five crew members on board, landed safely at 3:47 p.m.
“The safety and comfort of our crew and passengers is of the utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines.”