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IndiGo flight diverts to Ahmedabad after bomb threat, then hit by crew trouble
The aircraft was cleared by security forces, but lack of a crew forced passengers to sit in the airport; the flight had not taken off almost 12 hours later at midnight.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Airport Police, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and Dog Squad are conducting checks at the airport. (File photo)
An international IndiGo flight from Saudi Arabia to India made an emergency landing in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon after a bomb threat was received mid-air.
IndiGo flight 6E 058, which took off from Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah early Thursday, was scheduled to land at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. Following the threat, the pilots diverted the aircraft to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad.
The flight landed around 12 pm, after which passengers were deboarded and an intensive security check of the aircraft was initiated, said Zone 4 DCP Atul Bansal.
DCP Bansal said, “IndiGo Airlines received a bomb threat in an email today, following which the flight between Madinah and Hyderabad was diverted and landed at Ahmedabad International Airport at 12 pm. Security checks were carried out.”
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Airport Police, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and Dog Squad conducted checks of the aircraft.
Regarding further investigation of the bomb threat, DCP Bansal said, “While the security checks were uneventful, the Hyderabad police has taken cognizance of the incident and will further investigate the matter as the bomb threat email has been received there and that was the destination of this flight.”
However, while the aircraft was handed back to the airline on Thursday evening, the flight was yet to depart from Ahmedabad at midnight, 12 hours since it was forced to make the unscheduled stop in Ahmedabad.
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Airport sources told the Indian Express that the passengers of this particular flight had also suffered from the crew woes plaguing the airline, which is why passengers continued to await a crew before a departure time could be announced.
Meanwhile, as of 9 pm on Thursday, at least 9 arriving flights and 5 departing flights of IndiGo Airlines had been cancelled at Ahmedabad airport. A total of 27 flight arrivals and 21 departures stood delayed.
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