Man arrested after knife attack at Taoyuan airport

A man who allegedly attacked and injured a Cathay Pacific Airways intern with a knife at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday evening was subdued and arrested by aviation police, police said.

Aviation police said they received a report at 5:25pm of a man wielding a knife and confronting someone in the Cathay Pacific staff lounge in Terminal 1.

Officers were immediately dispatched to the scene, police said.

Aviation Police Bureau officers subdue a man who allegedly held a Cathay Pacific Airways intern at knifepoint at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of the Aviation Police Bureau via CNA

The suspect, surnamed Tsai (蔡), was subdued at 5:58pm and sustained minor injuries, police said.

He was taken to the Aviation Police Bureau for questioning, police said.

Police confiscated Tsai’s backpack, which had been left in the arrivals lobby, and found no dangerous items inside, they said.

The man who was held at knifepoint, an airline intern surnamed Huang (黃), sustained lacerations to his right hand and abdomen and was transported to a hospital for treatment, police said.

Cathay Pacific issued a statement confirming that an unidentified individual had entered its staff lounge and was taken into custody by authorities.

The airline said it was highly concerned about Huang’s condition and would provide him with any assistance while cooperating with the police investigation.