Bomb threat on Air India flight from Mumbai to New York, diverted to Delhi

“Flight AI119 operating Mumbai to JFK (New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport) on October 14 received a specific security alert and on instructions of the government’s security regulatory committee was diverted to Delhi. All passengers have disembarked and are at the Delhi airport terminal. Our colleagues on ground are making sure to minimise the inconvenience caused to our guests by this unexpected disruption,” an Air India spokesperson said.

Bags laid out on the tarmac of IGI airport after bomb threat on the flight. (Express Photo)

In such instances, the aircraft is subject to a thorough security inspection before being allowed to take off again.

The Boeing 777 aircraft — VT-AER — departed Mumbai at 2:27 am, nearly 50 minutes behind its scheduled departure of 1:40 am, and landed around one-and-a-half hours later, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24. Passengers were made to deplane the aircraft at around 4:10 am, but were asked to leave their bags on board. They are currently waiting in the holding area at the terminal, The Indian Express has learnt.

The flight path, as tracked by FlightRadar24.

So far, it is not clear whether the threat was a hoax. If that turns out to be the case, once the aircraft’s security inspection is complete, the plane will be allowed to fly to New York. Over the past few months, a number of Indian carriers’ flights have received fake bomb threats.

On September 6, a Vistara flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt was diverted to Erzurum airport in Turkey’s eastern region after a note claiming that there was a bomb on board the aircraft was found in one of the plane’s lavatories. The threat turned out to be a hoax but the incident became an ordeal for the passengers who were stuck in Erzurum for nearly 24 hours.

This was because by the time the necessary security checks were completed, the crew had exceeded its flight duty time limitations, which meant it could not have operated a flight without a mandatory rest period. Consequently, Vistara had to send an alternative aircraft with a fresh set of crew to fly the passengers stuck in Erzurum to Frankfurt.

What happens next?

An Air India spokesperson said that the flight has been rescheduled to the morning of October 15.

“Flight AI119 operating Mumbai to JFK on October 14 received a specific security alert and on instructions of the government’s security regulatory committee was diverted to Delhi. We confirm that all 239 passengers and 19 crew have disembarked and are currently undergoing security procedures. Refreshments have been provided to the passengers. Our staff on ground are making sure to minimise the inconvenience caused to our guests by this unexpected disruption. Guests will be moved to hotels once security protocols are completed. The flight has been rescheduled to the morning of October 15. We appreciate the patience and cooperation of all passengers. Air India is committed to and accords top priority to the safety and security of its passengers and crew,” the spokesperson informed.

With inputs from Upasika Singhal