Three arrested for bomb hoaxes which grounded flights

Three people have been arrested after they caused bomb scares which grounded two planes to Xinjiang Thursday, Shanghai Daily reports. 

Flight HO1255 was en route from Shanghai to Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, when a man surnamed Miao passed a note to a member of the air crew saying his two friends, surnamed Yuan and Gao, had threatened to blow up the aircraft.

Though the alleged bombers had missed the flight, Miao said he had checked in their luggage and was worried it might contain an explosive device, the Shanghai-based airline said in a statement.

Miao passed the note about noon — two and a half hours after the flight left Hongqiao airport — and the plane was immediately diverted to Lanzhou Airport in northwest China's Gansu Province, where it landed safely at 1:30pm.

Jiangsu police said the three had been detained for making false bomb threats. 

If found guilty, the three men are likely to face prison terms and might also be sued by Juneyao for the losses suffered by the costly diversions, officials said.

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