Jaipur: An Air India flight from Dubai to Jaipur made an emergency landing at Jaipur International Airport early Saturday following a bomb threat, which was later deemed a hoax, according to officials.
Upon receiving the bomb threat, an emergency was declared at the airport. The aircraft, carrying 189 passengers, touched down safely at 1:20 am, stated an official. Air India Express flight IX-196 was the subject of the bomb threat received at 12:45 am on Saturday.
Despite a thorough inspection, no suspicious items were discovered on the plane. This incident is the most recent in a string of bomb threats directed at various airlines, affecting both domestic and international flights. The majority of these threats, often communicated via social media, have proven to be false alarms.
A Vistara flight en route to London from Delhi was rerouted to Frankfurt following a bomb threat, which was later identified as a hoax, an official reported on Saturday. The airline spokesperson announced this morning that the aircraft safely touched down at Frankfurt Airport. Post-security clearance, the flight resumed and eventually arrived in London at approximately 11:40 pm local time on Friday.
“Vistara flight UK17 from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024, was alerted to a security threat via social media. Following standard protocol, the relevant authorities were promptly notified. For safety, the pilots opted to divert the aircraft to Frankfurt,” stated the spokesperson.
The official confirmed that the flight was threatened with a bomb. In a related incident, Akasa Air disclosed that its flight QP 1366, set to depart from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday, received a security warning just before takeoff.
“As a result, in adherence to safety and security protocols, passengers were disembarked while local authorities conducted the necessary procedures. We seek your understanding as our ground team endeavoured to minimize any inconvenience,” the airline communicated in a statement on X.
Recently, Indian airlines have been targeted with nearly 40 bomb threats, all of which proved to be false alarms. The Civil Aviation Ministry is considering implementing stringent measures to deter hoax bomb threats against airlines, including the possibility of adding offenders to the no-fly list.
