Two flights to Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, were diverted to other airports on Thursday over a false bomb threat.

According to Juneyao Airlines, one of its flight crew on flight HO1255 got a note from a passenger saying that his friend called and threatened to blow up the aircraft because he missed the flight.

The passenger said in the note that he was worried there were explosives in the luggage that his friend asked him to take. The pilots then decided to land in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province.

The airline said that the friend had missed his flight because he was shopping at the airport and so changed to flight HO1229.

Following the threat, flight HO1229 landed at Nanjing Lukou International Airport for a security check by local police and flight HO1255 landed at Lanzhou Zhongchuan airport.

An officer of the Nanjing Lukou International Airport Public Security Bureau told China News Service that they held one passenger on flight HO1229 who was a suspect in a criminal case.

Another officer told Beijing News that the bomb threat was false.

Passengers, flight crew and the aircraft are all safe, the company said.

In another case, police patrolling at Lanzhou Railway Station found a tubular object they suspected to be explosive around 4 pm.

The police sealed off the station and evacuated the crowds. The station returned to normal around 5:30 pm after police ruled out the possibility of explosives.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn