• Source:JND
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An Air India flight from Thailand's Phuket to New Delhi was compelled to make an emergency landing on Friday due to a mid-air bomb threat, as reported by Thai airport authorities. Flight AI 379, an Airbus A320 neo, departed from Phuket International Airport at 9:30 AM (local time) and was headed for New Delhi, but had to turn back in mid-air and returned safely at 11:46 AM, affirmed live tracking information from Flightradar24.

There were 156 people on the flight, all of whom were safely led off the plane when it touched down in Phuket. Standard bomb threat procedure as specified in the Airport Contingency Plan (ACP) was followed, an official Facebook post on the airport's page stated. "During the cruising phase of the flight, a security alert had been received, following which the pilot had the flight return to Phuket as a precautionary measure," said an Air India official as quoted to Reuters.

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Aircraft Under Security Screening

The aircraft is now being thoroughly screened by Thai authorities, who are also screening all luggage and cargo. Air India has not yet made an official statement on what type of bomb threat it had. Thailand's Airports of Thailand (AOT) assured that all emergency procedures were implemented, and the passengers were evacuated to a safe place as the aircraft was inspected. The authority is also interrogating the passenger who recived the threat. Phuket airport authorities are in touch with Air India for potential rescheduling of the flight or new travel arrangements for the affected travelers.

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The incident follows only a day after a devastating Air India crash close to Ahmedabad that killed over 240 people. Safety issues among airlines have been in sharp focus, particularly with Indian airlines reportedly receiving almost 1,000 fake bomb threats in 2024 alone, almost 10 times the number in past years.