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KLIA Runway to close from 11PM till 12PM

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Bomb scare delays 90 flights

 

SEPANG - More than 90 international flights arriving and departing the Kuala Lumpur International Airport yesterday were delayed after both runways were shut down temporarily because of the discovery of a World War 2 bomb.

 

The 226.7kg explosive, the size of a cooking gas cylinder, was found at the construction site of the new runway at KLIA 2, more than five kilometres away from the existing terminal.

 

After a discussion between police, the Department of Civil Aviation and Malaysia Airports Berhad, it was decided that both runways should be closed temporarily as a safety measure.

 

The runways were closed between 11am and 11.45am, and again between 3pm and 3.26pm, affecting 45 arrivals and 46 departures.

 

In a statement by Malaysia Airports Berhad, it was revealed that the flights affected included Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, AirAsia X, Firefly, Garuda, Iran Air, Silk Air, AirAsia Indonesia, Thai AirAsia, Thai Airways, Tiger Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Pakistan Airlines and Eva Air.

 

All the airlines were notified accordingly so that they could advise their passengers on the reschedules. Both runways resumed normal operations by 3.26pm.

 

A construction worker at the KLIA 2 site said the bomb was discovered when it fell off a lorry which was carrying excavated soil out of the area.

 

"When the lorry driver went to retrieve the fallen object, he shouted out that it was a bomb. All the workers ran away, thinking it was going to explode," he added. "Fortunately, it did not go off and the police detonated it later."

 

The worker said this was the third bomb discovered at the site since construction began last year.

 

Sepang district deputy police chief Deputy Superintendent Baharudin Mustapha said the bomb was covered in rust and checks revealed it was from the WW2 era.

 

"We believe it could have been dropped from a plane."

 

Baharudin said the bomb was detonated at the site at 3.20pm.

 

"Although the bomb was found more than five kilometres away from KLIA, we decided not to take chances, and closed down the runways.

 

"The timing to detonate the bomb was also decided after a discussion with airport authorities so as to not cause too much inconvenience to air travellers."

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I wondered if the authorities will do a thorough metal detection sweep for the rest of the construction site or not. Unlike in western countries, the bomb's originality and from what type of plane will be identified. With the information obtained, the experts will be able to deduce whether it is a single bomb run plane or from a bomb carrier aircraft..

 

anyway, someone there have decided that the bomb was dropped from a plane..hm...err...okay..supposed he's right too.. ;)

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A bomb from WW2... no wonder it halted so many flights.... and no doubt it mention only due to operational safety.. since bomb is a really sensitive word to mention in aviation industry...

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If bomb then just controlly detonate it & scan the rest of the area for safety. If an artifact is found at site, then our KLIA 2 will be wayyyyyyy delayed.

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