The China Southern flight originated in Urumqi, capital of the restive far western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where militant Uighurs have agitated for an independent "East Turkestan".
It landed in the northwestern city of Lanzhou on Friday after the crew discovered and foiled the attempt to "cause an air disaster", Xinjiang Governor Nuer Baikeli told reporters on the sidelines of the annual session of parliament.
Evidently the airline crew discovered and put a stop to it quickly and two people have been taken into custody already.
China has also rounded up people and killed a couple that they claim were planning an attack against the Beijing Olympics.
A senior Chinese official has warned that Uighurs -- a Turkic, largely Islamic people who share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia -- were plotting attacks on the Beijing Olympics.
China has said its police had shot dead two members of a "terrorist gang" and rounded up 15 others in a raid in January in Xinjiang.
Xinjiang's Communist Party boss Wang Lequan said that the aim of the gang involved in the January incident had been to attack the Olympics.
China has increased anti-terror preparations ahead of the August Games, with the country's top police official last year saying terrorism is the biggest threat facing the event.
This is going to be a problem, the games are and will be a target that would capture the world's attention and I cannot see terrorists giving up on their desire for what they will perceive as a "spectacular" news event.
Chinese security is going to have it's hands full, it seems they already do.
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