Spain: Jet evacuated in Madrid after hoax threat

MADRID (AP) - Passengers on a jet set to leave Madrid for Saudi Arabia were evacuated Thursday after the pilot reported an unspecified threat that authorities later determined was a hoax.

The Saudi Arabian Airlines jet taxied to a remote part of Madrid's airport Thursday after the threat was reported and all passengers safely disembarked, a spokeswoman for Spain's airport authority AENA said.

She had no further details about the nature of the threat, but said Madrid's airport was briefly placed on a high level safety alert by law enforcement officials.

Spain's Civil Guard police force tweeted hours later that the threat was a false alarm.

The alert level for Madrid's airport was lowered after the passengers disembarked from the jet, which was supposed to fly to Riyadh and the airport was operating normally.

The AENA official spoke on condition of anonymity because of agency rules preventing her from being named.