Vistara bomb threat: Afghanistan denies permission to use airspace, Frankfurt flight returns to Delhi

Vistara bomb threat: Authorities in Afghanistan on October 20 denied permission to Vistara's Frankfurt-bound flight UK25 to use its airspace after it recieved a bomb threat, forcing the plane to return to Delhi, PTI reported, citing sources.

The report added that Flight UK25 was a Boeing 787 aircraft bound for the German capital city of Frankfurt, with over 240 passengers and crew on board.

The bomb threat was classified as "non-specific", sources told PTI, and it was decided that the plane would continue to its destination, but authorities in Afghanistan refused permission to fly over the country's airspace due to the threat.

The report added that Vistara did not immediately respond to queries on the same.

Flight Returns to Delhi Airport

After permission was denied for airspace use in Afghanistan, the flight made its way back to Delhi airport and landed safely at 16.20 hours or 4.20 pm on October 20, the sources added. It had taken off from the airport at around 1310 hours (1.10 pm).

"Flight UK25 from Delhi to Frankfurt (DEL-FRA) is returning back to Delhi (DEL) and is expected to arrive in Delhi (DEL) at 1620 hours," the airline had said in a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

According to information on Flightradar24.com, the plane circled in Pakistani airspace and briefly entered Afghan airspace before turning back. Generally, the flight to Frankfurt passes through the airspace of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and a few other countries.

Bomb Threat Pile On

Earlier on October 19, a bomb threat on Tata SIA Airlines led to the diversion of a Delhi flight en route London, with it making a landing in Frankfurt, PTI reported. An airline spokesperson said the flight landed safely at Frankfurt and was cleared for further route after mandatory checks.

Notably, as many as 100 flights received hoax bomb threats this week, with all turning out to be hoaxes. In fact, on October 20 itself, Vistara said it recieved security threats for six flights, including the UK25 bound for Frankfurt.

“IndiGo, Vistara, Akasa Air and Air India are among the airlines that received bomb threats, including international flights," sources told PTI. Six flights each of IndiGo, Vistara and Air India received the threats on October 20, they added.

Further, flights of Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Star Air, and Alliance Air received bomb threats on October 19, sources told news agency PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)