publish time

22/08/2024

author name Arab Times

publish time

22/08/2024

INDIA, Aug 22: An Air India flight, AI 657, en route from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram, was forced to make an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport this morning following a bomb threat.

The flight, carrying 135 passengers and crew, received the bomb threat while in transit. The pilot immediately informed the Air Traffic Control unit in Thiruvananthapuram and requested an emergency landing. The airport declared a full emergency at 7:36 a.m., and the aircraft landed safely at approximately 8:00 a.m. Fire tenders and ambulances were on standby throughout the emergency.

Upon landing, the aircraft was directed to an isolation bay where passengers disembarked. Baggage screening is currently underway. According to airport authorities, there has been no impact on life, and airport operations remain unaffected.

A spokesperson for Air India confirmed, "A specific security alert was detected on Air India flight AI657 during its cruise from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram. The flight landed safely, was parked in a remote bay for mandatory security checks, and all passengers and crew disembarked safely."

The bomb threat comes amid a recent surge in similar incidents across the country. On Wednesday evening, a Vistara flight, UK-966, faced a major delay due to a hoax hijack threat, which led to immediate security measures.

In related incidents, nearly 41 airports in India received bomb threat emails earlier this year, all of which were later confirmed to be hoaxes following extensive checks by security agencies.

On Tuesday, at least 100 hospitals and shopping malls across Delhi-NCR also received bomb threat emails. Locations such as AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Fortis Hospital, and several prominent malls including Chanakya Mall, Select CityWalk, and DLF Mall were evacuated as bomb detection teams conducted searches.