CAIRO, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cairo Airport authorities on Wednesday evacuated passengers on board a Rome-bound flight over bomb attack threat, state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

The police received a phone call from an unidentified man warning that the Alitalia airlines Rome-bound flight is booby- trapped. Egyptian Tourism Minister Zohair Garana was among the 157 passengers on board, the report said.

All passengers were asked to leave the plane, while the police started examining them and checking their luggage. They then moved to the VIP terminal.

The plane was also being re-examined. The check is expected to take several hours.