NEW DELHI: An Air India flight traveling from Mumbai to London declared an emergency on Thursday following a bomb threat received just an hour before its scheduled landing. This incident is part of a troubling trend, as multiple Indian flights have been targeted by bomb threats throughout the week, NDTV reported.
The flight, designated AI129, departed from Mumbai at 7:05 AM IST. As the aircraft approached its destination, the pilots initiated an emergency protocol by “squawking 7700,” a code used to indicate a general emergency situation.
Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 indicated that the Boeing 777 circled over East England before safely landing at Heathrow Airport at 12:05 PM UK time.
Today’s bomb threat is one of several reported incidents affecting various flights. In total, five Air India flights, two Vistara flights, and two IndiGo flights received bomb threats, marking the fourth consecutive day of such occurrences. Over the past four days, 20 aircraft have been targeted.
Among the affected flights was a Vistara flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai, which carried 147 passengers. Upon arrival, the aircraft was directed to an isolation bay at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, where passengers were safely disembarked and a comprehensive security check was conducted.
A spokesperson for Vistara confirmed the airline’s cooperation with security agencies to complete mandatory checks, emphasizing, “The safety and security of our customers, crew, and aircraft are of utmost importance.”
Similarly, an IndiGo flight arriving from Istanbul to Mumbai also received a bomb threat and was isolated for security checks upon landing in Mumbai.
India’s Ministry of Home Affairs has ordered the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to maintain heightened alertness at airports nationwide. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu reiterated the government’s commitment to passenger safety, stating, “We are dedicated to upholding the highest security standards.”
