Qatari diplomat causes security scare on US flight

A Qatari diplomat  who caused a security alert aboard a United Airlines flight after smoking in a toilet will not be charged with a crime, an embassy representative said on Thursday.

Qatar's ambassador to the United States called the incident aboard a flight from Washington to Denver late on Wednesday a "mistake" and said the man, who had diplomatic immunity, was travelling on official business.

He was caught smoking in a toilet and made a remark that was perceived as a threat on the plane, officials said. No smoking is allowed on commercial flights in the United States.

US officials have ramped up security substantially since Christmas Day last year after a Nigerian man with explosives in his underwear allegedly tried to blow up a transatlantic flight as it approached Detroit.

A spokeswoman at Brown Lloyd James, a firm which represents the Qatari embassy, said the diplomat, Mohammed Al-Madadi who is a Third Secretary, had been released from custody and would not be charged.

F-16 fighter jets escorted the United Airlines Boeing 757 plane, with 157 passengers and six crew, to Denver International Airport and the diplomat was taken into custody.

"It looks like the individual in question was perhaps smoking in the lavatory and might have made an unfortunate remark" when confronted by airline personnel, a US official said. 

Qatar's ambassador to Washington, Ali bin Fahad al-Hajri, said the man posed no security threat.

"He was certainly not engaged in any threatening activity. The facts will reveal that this was a mistake, and we urge all concerned parties to avoid reckless judgments or speculation," al-Hajri said in a statement posted on the embassy's Web site.

President Barack Obama was briefed on the disturbance and a White House official said actions were taken to ensure travellers'' safety.

Passengers aboard United Airlines flight 663 said no struggle took place and the suspect appeared to be speaking calmly to a US air marshal in the first class cabin.

"I didn't know anything had happened until we landed," said Tim Burney, sitting one row in front of the man, who was handcuffed and taken away for questioning at the airport.

Burney said he overheard the marshal telling the man "just be honest with me" and the passenger saying something about being "embarrassed."

The first reports of Wednesday's alert suggested a more serious incident. ABC News, citing federal law enforcement officials, reported air marshals subdued a man who authorities say tried to "light his shoes on fire" on the flight.

Just months after hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on Sept 11, 2001, Richard Reid, a Briton and self-admitted member of al-Qaeda, was subdued on a transatlantic flight diverted to Boston after attempting to detonate explosives hidden in his shoes.

In an unrelated incident at Los Angeles International Airport early on Thursday morning, several flights were delayed after a passenger left a screening checkpoint before having a bag fully examined, according to the Transportation Security Administration and airport authorities.

Operations at three terminals were halted for more than an hour while authorities found the passenger and rescreened the bag. The checkpoints were later re-opened and operations  resumed, TSA said.