An Air India Express flight had to conduct an emergency landing today due to a bomb threat received mid-air. The aircraft, carrying 176 passengers from Mumbai to Varanasi, prompted a heightened state of alert at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi. Upon landing safely, the plane was immediately directed to an isolation area.
Following the incident, a bomb disposal team performed a thorough search of the aircraft but did not discover any suspicious items. An Air India Express spokesperson stated that upon receiving the security threat, all necessary safety protocols were activated promptly. The flight landed without incident, and all passengers were safely disembarked. The aircraft will resume operations once all required security checks are completed.
In a separate incident earlier today, IndiGo airline also faced a security scare when an email threatened to detonate explosives at five airports across the country. This led to heightened security measures at major airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, and Hyderabad.
The email threat is currently under investigation by the government-appointed Bomb Threat Assessment Committee.
Air India Express, a budget airline under the ownership of Air India, specializes in domestic and short- to medium-haul international flights.
