Just hours before the Beijing Olympics got underway, airline Air China revealed that they had received threats of crashing planes into Olympic buildings and exploding aircraft on route to Beijing.

The Japan Office of Air China revealed the e-mail threat: “We are telling Air China: immediately suspend operations of all flights. Otherwise we will bomb the planes. We will crash the airplanes into the site of the Olympics.”

One flight was forced to return to Nagoya Airport in Japan due to the threat, with several other aircraft going under surveillance before taking off at Narita Airport.

Japanese Transport Ministry official Toshiro Tachimoto confirmed a link between the threat and the Beijing Olympics.

“Air China received an email saying a bomb will be exploded unless all Air China flights are suspended,” Toshito Tachimoto said.

The Beijing Airport shut down shortly before 10.00pm EST (8pm local time), when the opening ceremony of the Olympics was about to commence.

For more news on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, click on the ‘beijing olympics’ tag below.

Tags: beijing olympics, China