Air India on Monday said Flight Al119, operating from Mumbai to New York, was diverted to New Delhi this morning following a bomb scare threat. The flight made an emergency landing at Delhi airport, where all 239 passengers and crew members were safely evacuated.
"Flight Al119 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. All passengers have disembarked and are at the Delhi airport terminal," Air India said.
“Our colleagues on the ground are making sure to minimise the inconvenience caused to our guests by this unexpected disruption. Air India is committed to and accords top priority to the safety and security of its passengers and crew,” the Air India added.
The airline said the flight has been rescheduled to the morning of October 15.
Taking to microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter), a passenger posted, “Air India flight AI119, en route from Mumbai to New York’s JFK, was diverted to Delhi following a specific bomb threat received on social media. The decision to reroute the flight was made based on the instructions of the government’s security regulatory committee. The aircraft landed safely at Delhi’s IGI Airport, and all passengers over 239 have disembarked and are currently inside the terminal.”
The aircraft is stationed on an isolation runwayat the IGI Airport. Security agencies, including a bomb squad team, have conducted thorough checks of the aircraft. All standard safety protocols are being diligently followed to ensure the safety of passengers and crew on board. All security agencies at the airport are on alert, Delhi police said.
"We request your cooperation and refrain from spreading unverified information. Further updates will be shared in due course," said a senior police officer at Delhi airport.
The Mumbai airport this morning received a message on X, regarding a bomb threat on a flight bound for New York. The message was conveyed to security agencies in Delhi and the call was taken to divert the aircraft to Delhi.
It is important to note that hours after a fake bomb threat forced a London-bound Air India flight to make an emergency landing, two other IndiGo flight operations were impacted due to a fake bomb scare this morning.
The two IndiGo flights, 6E 1275 from Mumbai to Muscat and Flight 6E 56 operating from Mumbai to Jeddah, received a bomb threat on Monday morning, ANI reported, citing sources.
