Emirati security authorities have allowed all passengers on an Etihad Airways flight that had suspicious lavatory fires to leave after several were temporarily detained for questioning by police, the airline said today.
Passengers on board the Boeing 777-300ER flight from Melbourne, Australia, to the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi said today's fires sent smoke into the cabin and appeared to have been deliberately set.
Smoke was detected in two toilets after takeoff from Melbourne on Monday, prompting a precautionary diversion to Jakarta, Indonesia, and again in a toilet as the plane made its way to its destination of Abu Dhabi, according to the government-backed airline.
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None of the 254 passengers and crew was removed from the flight in Indonesia. Several passengers said that decision was unnerving given the fears that the fires were started by someone on board.
Twelve people were detained upon arrival in Abu Dhabi as authorities investigated the case. A young woman who had attracted the suspicions of some passengers was among those initially detained, witnesses said.
"The real story is: Who was the idiot woman trying to burn a plane down, and why," passenger Mark Sinclair, 45, said by email. "She should be in jail for a very long time."
The 12 passengers held for additional questioning were offered hotel accommodation but opted to stay together and were kept in the airline's first-class lounge, according to Etihad. It said consular officials from Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland visited them.
