Three Vistara flights receive bomb threats; one diverted to Frankfurt

In a statement early on October 19, an airline spokesperson said the flight landed safely at the Frankfurt airport and mandatory checks are being conducted

“Three international flights of Vistara airline that received bomb threats turned out to be hoaxes, while one of the aircraft was diverted to Frankfurt as a precautionary measure,” officials said on Saturday (October 19, 2024).

In a statement, a Vistara spokesperson said the three flights operating out of Delhi received security threats on social media on Friday (October 18, 2024) and as per protocol, all the relevant authorities were promptly alerted.

Bomb scare: Air India flight makes emergency landing in Jaipur

The officials said the flights to London, Paris and Hong Kong from Delhi received bomb threats that later turned out to be hoaxes.

“Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London was diverted to Frankfurt as a precautionary measure. The aircraft landed at Frankfurt Airport safely and we fully cooperated with the authorities to complete the necessary checks, following which the flight was cleared to conclude the journey,” the spokesperson said.

The flight later landed in London at around 11:40 p.m. local time on Friday (October 18, 2024).

The airline also said the flight UK21 operating from Delhi to Paris landed safely at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. The aircraft was taken to the isolation bay for the mandatory security checks and then later cleared to resume operations.

According to the airline, the flight UK161 operating from Delhi to Hong Kong landed safely at the Hong Kong International Airport and all security procedures were adhered to.

Also read | Akasa Air’s Delhi-Bengaluru flight receives bomb threat; returns to national capital

Meanwhile, Akasa Air on Saturday (October 19, 2024) early morning said its flight QP 1366 scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday (October 18, 2024) 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 ground did everything possible to reduce inconvenience,” the airline said in a post on X.

A Dubai-Jaipur Air India Express flight made an emergency landing at the Jaipur airport in the early hours of Saturday (October 19, 2024) due to a bomb threat, which later turned out to be a hoax, officials said.

“After authorities were alerted about the threat, an emergency was declared at the airport. The flight with 189 passengers onboard landed safely at the airport at 1.20 a.m.,” an official said, adding that the plane was checked thoroughly but nothing suspicious was found.

In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.

The 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.

Published - October 19, 2024 06:00 am IST