Varanasi-Bound Air India Express Flight Receives Bomb Threat. It Was A Hoax

An Air India Express flight from Mumbai to Varanasi received a bomb threat on Wednesday, prompting the airline to immediately declare a high alert and activate standard safety protocols, officials said. 

The aircraft made a safe emergency landing at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport and was immediately moved to an isolation bay for a thorough security check. 

All passengers were safely evacuated, and a bomb disposal squad arrived at the scene, which was cordoned off by the security agencies and airport authorities as they launched an investigation into the source of the threat.

"One of our flights to Varanasi received a security threat. In line with protocol, the airport was immediately alerted, and all necessary security procedures were promptly initiated," an Air India Express spokesperson stated.

The airline said that all passengers were deboarded safely. "The flight landed safely, and all guests have been disembarked. The aircraft will be released for operations once all mandated security checks are completed," the statement added.

Meanwhile, sources said that several major airports, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Hyderabad, also received bomb threat emails earlier in the day, allegedly sent via IndiGo Airlines.

The emails, which were received between 3:40 pm and 3:45 pm, prompted security agencies to carry out precautionary checks. 

Following an investigation, the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee determined the threats to be a hoax. Authorities are currently examining whether the Varanasi incident is linked to these earlier threats.

Earlier last week, flight operations at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) experienced major disruptions due to a technical fault in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system, impacting over 400 flights from various airlines, including Indigo, Air India, and others.