Delays, diversions continue as 7 more flights get bomb threats | Mumbai news

Mumbai Seven flights, including an Air India plane headed to Chicago that was forced to land at a remote Canadian airport and an Air India Express service to Singapore that was escorted by two F-15 fighters away from populated areas, were diverted, delayed or subjected to a search on Tuesday after posts on social media said they had bombs on board.

Tuesday’s disrupted flights come a day after three similar threats for airlines (and another for a train) were made on Monday, prompting authorities to convene a high-level meeting for Wednesday. None of the planes had any explosives on board, airlines and aviation officials said. “Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday held a meeting with the Bureau of Civil Aviation, CISF (Central Industrial Security Force), and other senior officials in airport security over the bomb threats. The ministry will hold a high-level meeting on Wednesday,” news agency ANI reported.

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The threats were issued to Air India Express flight IX765 from Jaipur to Bengaluru via Ayodhya, SpiceJet flight SG116 from Darbhanga to Mumbai, Akasa Air flight QP1373 from Bagdogra to Bengaluru, an Air India flight AI127 from Delhi to Chicago, Indigo flight 6E98 from Dammam (Saudi Arabia) to Lucknow (6E 98), Alliance Air flight 9I650 from Amritsar to Dehradun and Air India Express flight IX684 from Madurai to Singapore.

In all of these cases, the threats came from one X account, @schizobomber777, which was suspended during the day. The account, with no other identifier, was created earlier this month.

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The most dramatic of the consequences appeared to be for IX684, which was escorted away out to the sea by two F-15 combat jets of the Singapore Air Force.

“Air India Express received an email that there was a bomb on board flight AXB684 that was bound for Singapore. Two of our RSAF F-15SGs scrambled and escorted the plane away from populated areas, to finally land safely at Singapore Changi Airport at around 10:04pm tonight,” said Singapore’s defence minister Ng Eng Hen in a post on X, adding that investigations are ongoing.

Flight tracking websites showed the IX684 was in a holding position to the east of Singapore, over the sea, for roughly an hour before it was given clearance to land. The other international flight affected was headed to Chicago from Delhi, and was diverted to Iqaluit, the northernmost Canadian town of roughly 8,000 population. “Flight AI127 operating from Delhi to Chicago was the subject of a security threat posted online and, as a precautionary measure, has landed at Iqaluit Airport in Canada. The aircraft and passengers are being re-screened…” an Air India said. It was not clear if the flight left Iqaluit till the time of going to print.

The only other flight to be diverted was the Indigo plane from Dammam to Lucknow, which landed at Jaipur. The remaining underwent inspections after safely landing either at their layover spots or destinations. An Air India Express spokesperson said the flight from Ayodhya to Bengaluru was delayed by almost three hours as security checks were carried out at Ayodhya.

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The SpiceJet aircraft from Darbhanga landed at its destination Mumbai and was directed to an isolation bay as a precautionary measure, the airline said.

An Akasa Air spokesperson said that, on its affected flight, the “captain followed all required emergency procedures and landed safely at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru at 13:39 hours”. The aircraft was released for operations.

An Alliance Air official said all “precautionary measures” were being taken for the Amritsar-Dehradun-Delhi flight, which was undergoing security checks at the Dehradun airport. An IndiGo spokesperson said, “We are working closely with relevant authorities and taking all precautions…”

On Monday, three international flights – A New York-bound Air India flight and two IndiGo flights flying to separate cities in West Asia – and one West Bengal-bound train originating from Mumbai received bomb threats that turned out to be a hoax. DCP of Mumbai Police’s Zone 8 Manish Kalwaniya said two people have been detained over with those threats.

(With agency inputs)