AirAsia Berhad, in a statement, said that flight AK423 was then forced to be evacuated as the authorities searched the flight for a “bomb threat search”, as a precautionary measure.

“The situation was handled according to the standard operating procedures when dealing with such a situation.

The aircraft was later declared safe by the authorities.

“All guests on board the aircraft have disembarked safely and the disruptive guest has been arrested by the authorities for further investigation,” said the statement.

Meanwhile, Astro Awani quoted Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) as saying that the grounding of AK423 had no impact on operations of other flights at the airport.

This is not the first time passengers have caused flights to be grounded.

In May last year, an intoxicated passenger caused a Malaysia Airlines flight enroute to Sri Lanka to make a U-turn to the airport while airborne, when he started harassing a member of the flight crew. He had to be restrained by other guests in the plane until the plane touched the ground.

Earlier last month, three flights at the Kuching International Airport were forced to be rescheduled after a man joked that he had a bomb in a box he was carrying, which turned out to be Sarawak’s popular “kek lapis” (layer cake).