A Nigerian national was arrested on an Air Zimbabwe flight to Harare after he threatened other passengers, the state-controlled Herald newspaper reported on Thursday.
The man, who was not named, was arrested on Wednesday at Kamuzu International airport in Lilongwe, Malawi, for behaving in a manner that compromised the safety of other passengers, said the newspaper.
The plane, carrying 180 passengers, was on a flight from Dubai to Harare when it made a stopover in the Malawian capital. The exact nature of the threats is not yet known.
”We do not condone such behaviour as we value the safety of our passengers,” said Air Zimbabwe acting CEO Oscar Madombwe.
Zimbabwe is still smarting from an incident on a South African Airways flight last month when a Zimbabwean student, Tinashe Rioga, allegedly brandished a syringe at a flight attendant in a bid to get the plane diverted to Maputo, Mozambique.
He claims he received threatening messages on his mobile phone a week before he attempted the hijack and was worried the sender might be waiting for him at Johannesburg, where the flight was headed. — Sapa-dpa