Air India Express flight from Dubai to Jaipur receives bomb threat via email

An Air India Express flight IX-196 flying from Dubai to Jaipur, with 189 passengers onboard, received a bomb threat via email, the news agency ANI reported on Saturday (Oct 19) citing the Jaipur Airport police.

The aircraft landed at the airport at 1.20 am IST. “After a thorough check by the security forces, nothing suspicious was found,” an airport police official told the news agency.

This bomb threat came hours after a London-bound Vistara flight from Delhi was diverted to Frankfurt on Friday. On Saturday, an airline spokesperson said in a statement the flight landed safely at the Frankfurt airport and mandatory checks are being conducted. The flight will continue to its destination once cleared by the security agencies.

“Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024, received a security threat on social media. In line with the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt,” the statement added. 

Meanwhile, Akasa Air said its flight QP 1366 scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday received a security alert shortly before departure.

“Hence as per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deplaned as the local authorities followed necessary procedures. We request your understanding as our team on the ground did everything possible to reduce inconvenience,” the airline said in a post on X.

In recent days, nearly 40 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes, a report by the news agency PTI on Saturday said. 

India’s Civil Aviation Ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators on the no-fly list.

(With inputs from agencies)