A passenger has been charged in Australia with allegedly threatening to blow up an airliner

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A 45-year-old man has been charged with allegedly threatening to blow up a plane during a flight from Australia to Malaysia that returned to Sydney. Police arrested Canberra resident Muhammad Arif and took him from the Airbus A330 on Monday almost three hours after Malaysia Airlines flight MH122 returned to Sydney Airport. Police allege the man had become disruptive and claimed to have explosives on board. Arif repeatedly refused to leave his police cell to appear before a Sydney court by video link. The airliner with 199 passengers and 12 crew aboard had left Sydney early Monday afternoon for an eight-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur.