On Wednesday, 1 May, 200 passengers of a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight bound for Kansai, Japan, were delayed for almost five hours after receiving a bomb threat.

Based on the report from the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEGROUP), led by Police Col. Esteban Eustaquio, the airport police received a call from a woman asking if there was a bomb threat on PAL flight PR412 bound for Kansai, Japan.

The airport police immediately reported the incident and conducted a verification, which resulted in the identification of the passenger's name.

According to the authorities, PAL flight PR412 was supposed to depart at 9 a.m. from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.

But due to the airport's standard operating procedure, all onboard passengers were immediately disembarked and went through human x-rays again before returning to the airport terminal.

The PAL staff provided snacks and drinks to the passengers while the PNP-AVSEGROUP personnel, airport security, and the K-9 unit conducted an inspection inside the said aircraft.

When the paneling and inspection of the plane were finished after 11 a.m., no bomb was found.

That meant a rescheduling of the flight at 12:40 p.m.

Before the flight departed for Kansai, Japan, the passengers were transported via a shuttle van, which entered the runway and sent them to board the airport and due to the delay in the documentation process, the flight continued to be delayed until 3 p.m.

PAL Spokesperson Cielo Villaluna asked for understanding that bomb jokes are banned under Presidential Decree No. 1727, and will be taken seriously by security and law enforcement authorities.

Villaluna added that their passengers' cooperation and compliance will help them avoid any security or law enforcement measures that may result in delayed flights and inconvenience of all passengers.