Cebu Pacific flight gets delayed after a passenger receives bomb threat via AirDrop

A Cebu Pacific flight bound for Manila from Bacolod was delayed on Sunday, July 2 after a passenger received a bomb threat while waiting for take-off, reported the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

In a statement released on Monday, CAAP said the bomb threat was sent at around 11:39 p.m. via AirDrop, an iOS feature that allows transferring of documents and files across its devices.

The passenger immediately alerted the flight attendant, who notified the pilot.

The Philippine National Police Aviation Security and Emergency Unit (PNP AVSEU) was immediately notified of the incident.

The aircraft was deplaned and inspected by a bomb squad while passengers underwent x-ray security checks.

“The whole security procedure caused the flight to be delayed for two hours,” said CAAP.

 “The flight was able to successfully take off at 02:18 a.m. on July 3, 2023 with 193 passengers on board,” it added.

According to the CAAP, the sender of the bomb threat is still unidentified, but the authorities are investigating the incident.