Plane Evacuated In Madrid After Bomb Threat

Spanish authorities evacuated all passengers and crew from a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight bound for Riyadh at Madrid's Barajas airport after a bomb threat.

The Saudia flight was grounded before take off after the pilot noticed a note with a bomb threat onboard, Spain's interior minister, Jose Fernandez Diaz, said in parliament.

A spokesman for Saudia said the threat was a false alarm and the airline was taking all the necessary precautionary formalities.

"It's just another hoax that all airlines are subjected to," he said.

Spain's airport operator Aena said they had downgraded the alarm from general to local, meaning the alert would not affect other flights and the airport would continue operating as normal.

El Pais newspaper said the note, with "bomb threat" written in English, was attached to a baggage compartment in the plane with a knife.