Passenger's joke triggers evacuation at Kazakh airport

Atyrau Airport in Atyrau city of Kazakhstan has temporarily halted operations after a passenger jokingly claimed to have an explosive device in their hand luggage during check-in, Orda.kz reports.

Police and the Atyrau Regional National Security Committee (KNB) evacuated passengers, cordoned off the terminal, and called emergency services. A security check confirmed that there was no threat.

“The incident occurred during check-in for the Atyrau–Almaty flight. A criminal case has been opened against the man under Article 273 of the Criminal Code of Kazakhstan — ‘Knowingly False Report of a Terrorist Act.’

No one was harmed, and the airport has returned to normal operations,” the Transport Police Department press service said.

By Khagan Isayev