Jaipur-Bound Air India Express Flight from Dubai Receives Bomb Threat Via Email

Jaipur: An Air India Express flight IX-196 flying from Dubai to Jaipur, with 189 passengers onboard, received a bomb threat via an email.

The plane landed at the Jaipur International Airport at 1:20 am. 

Jaipur Airport Police SHO Sandeep Baseras said a thorough check was conducted by the security forces and, nothing suspicious was found. 

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

Multiple Hoax Bomb Threats 

Earlier on Friday, London-bound Vistara flight from Delhi was diverted to Frankfurt following a bomb threat.

In a statement early Saturday morning, an airline spokesperson said 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 spokesperson said.

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 ground did everything possible to reduce inconvenience," the airline said in a post on X.

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

 As per officials, the government aims to establish strong deterrents against bomb hoax threats, which have surged in recent days. In just the past four days, at least 26 hoax threats have targeted major airlines in India. 

A senior official from a leading Indian airline described these threats as attempts to disrupt the rapidly growing aviation sector, noting that such hoaxes lead to aircraft diversions and delays, causing financial losses and significant inconvenience for both airlines and passengers. 

More than 20 flights received bomb threats this week, leading to diversions and rescheduling of flights and sending security forces into a tizzy.

(Inputs from PTI)