Questions have been raised about why it took police so long to remove terrified passengers who were trapped on a plane for hours after a man ranted madly about Allah.
Frustrated travelers, some with babies and young children, have spoken out about the nightmare of Malaysia Airlines flight MH122 en route to Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
Witnesses claimed that a ‘disruptive’ passenger reached into his bag and stated that he had ‘a bomb’ in him, forcing the plane to return to Sydney Airport.
Passengers then spent up to three hours aboard the grounded aircraft on the tarmac without food and water before they were finally allowed to disembark.
They had to leave everything on board the plane, including their luggage, passports and even medicines.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has defended the police response to the incident in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police.
A Canberra man, 55, man has since been charged with making a false statement about threat of harm and a charge of failing to follow directions.
He appeared in Downing Center local court on Tuesday, where bail was denied.
Passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight returned to Sydney recall their terrifying ordeal on board
The ‘disruptive’ passenger aboard Malaysian Airlines MH122 en route to Kuala Lumpur on Monday will appear in court later on Tuesday
Nikitha Ezhu was traveling with a three-year-old toddler and a two-month-old baby she was breastfeeding.
She described the ordeal as “the worst situation.”
“We were able to pick up WiFi, but there was no food or anything on the flight, which was very bad. When we saw the news, it really shocked us,” she told Sunrise on Tuesday.
‘It was a nightmare. There were a lot of children on the run and I don’t know how we got through that situation.’
Some passengers claimed they had not received updates on board about when they would be able to disembark and found out more about the incident by reading media reports on their phones.
Ms. Ezhu recalled how the police ordered passengers to leave everything on board when they left the plane.
“Then the kids could finally get some water and food,” she said.
She recalled hearing the man preach the Quran early in the flight before claiming he was carrying a bomb, forcing the plane to flip.
“It reached Sydney and I think we were on the run for two hours waiting for the police to take action, so it was actually really horrifying.”
Nikitha Ezhu and her two children were among nearly 200 terrified passengers on board the flight
Passengers were stranded on the plane for up to three hours when it returned to Sydney on Monday afternoon
Ms. Ezhu and her family sat at the back of the plane, which was surrounded by fire engines on the tarmac.
She is one of many travelers who have asked questions about the emergency response.
“I don’t understand why it took so long for the police to come, because we were waiting on the plane for two hours,” she said.
“There were children and families who didn’t know what to do, had no food or nothing. It was really horrible.’
Other passengers endured similar harrowing trials when they finally made their way through the airport terminal on Monday night.
“We couldn’t hear what was going on, but we knew the plane was spinning. We could see it on the screen on board,” passenger Fiona Roux told reporters.
“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.
The man (pictured, without a face mask) says his name as Mohammed and says he is a ‘slave of Allah’ before taunting other passengers nearby to repeat that they are also ‘slaves of Allah’
Passengers had to leave everything on board, including passports and medicines, when they were finally allowed to leave the plane
The NSW Police Commissioner has hit back at claims the delays were too long.
“As it was a volatile and unpredictable situation, we didn’t know the seriousness of the incident,” Commissioner Karen Webb told 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Tuesday.
“You’ll have to make do with what we learn about the passenger.
“We didn’t know if there was a bomb, so we had to work with the AFP through all those considerations in terms of what we were dealing with.
She believed three hours to defuse the situation was “quite good” and that extensive police resources had been deployed to respond to the incident, including the bomb call.
“I know it’s terrifying for those on the plane and their families out there, but given the situation, if you’re trying to negotiate, we’re not storming planes,” Commissioner Webb said.
“It’s not TV or the movies, we want to protect the lives of all passengers.
“I can only imagine how terrifying it would have been for them.”
“I commend the crew for what they did to keep the passengers calm… to de-escalate the situation so that we can resolve this matter within three hours.”
The NSW Police Commissioner has responded to criticism of the police response to the terrifying incident on board
Commissioner Webb was asked by Fordham if it would have been ‘safer if they had a police officer on board sooner’.
“We can always ask if we could have done something different,” she admitted.
“And no doubt there will be a debriefing, but we can never assume anything and you don’t know if this person acted alone or if he actually had other support on the plane or off the plane,” she said.
“We are never complacent about these issues and we should never make assumptions. We’re just lucky that this happens so rarely in Australia, but we should never be complacent if we think it could never happen here.’
The man was arrested Monday evening without incident.
He was charged with one count of false statements about the threat to damage a Division 3 aircraft and one count of failing to comply with cabin crew safety instructions.
The offenses carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of more than $15,000, respectively.
“With the matter before the court, no further comments or updates will be made at this stage,” an AFP statement said.
Many passengers on board the flight (pictured leaving Sydney Airport after the ordeal) asked questions about the emergency response to the incident