A day after the devastating Air India flight crash that killed hundreds, another flight from the airline faced an alarming bomb threat. The incident involved Air India flight AI 379. The aircraft had departed from Phuket, Thailand, with 156 passengers and was bound for New Delhi on Friday when A note indicating a bomb threat was discovered mid-flight in one of the aircraft’s lavatories.
This prompted the pilot to return the aircraft to Phuket International Airport for an emergency landing. All of the passengers were escorted off the plane when it was back on the ground.
Reuters reported that after the plane landed, emergency protocols were followed after the discovery. Security personnel conducted a complete search of the aircraft when the plane landed. Authorities later confirmed that no explosive devices were found onboard. Despite the scare, airport operations continued without delay or interruption.
At a press conference following the incident, Phuket Airport’s general manager, Monchai Tanode, revealed that the threatening message led to immediate police involvement. “Police took suspects for questioning but could not clearly say who wrote the note,” he stated, per the report.
Three individuals on the flight were initially treated as potential suspects, but all three were cleared after further investigation, according to Air India representative Debasish Choudhury.
This ordeal came on the heels of a deadly incident involving an Air India flight in Ahmedabad. That tragedy claimed the lives of over 240 people, with everyone onboard, except a London man, dying.
While officials have not linked the two events, Friday’s bomb threat has reignited concerns about flight safety and the rising number of threats faced by India’s aviation sector. In recent months, both airlines and airports in the country have been dealing with a surge in false bomb threats. There were nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages recorded between January 2024 to October 2024.