Air India Birmingham-Delhi flight faces bomb scare, diverted to Riyadh
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Air India Birmingham-Delhi flight faces bomb scare, diverted to Riyadh
Air India flight AI-114, from Birmingham to Delhi, has been diverted to Riyadh following a bomb threat. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner has landed at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and has completed all security checks. All the passengers on board have reportedly been deplaned and provided with hotel accommodation. This marks at least the third such incident in 10 days. On June 16, a Hyderabad-bound Lufthansa flight made an abrupt U-turn and returned to Frankfurt.
The flight, which is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, has landed at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and has completed all security checks. All the passengers on board have reportedly been deplaned and provided with hotel accommodation. This marks at least the third such incident in 10 days.
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Air India issues statement
In a statement to FinancialExpress.com, an Air India spokesperson acknowledged the incident and said that alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destinations.
“Flight AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi on 21 June received a bomb threat and was consequently diverted to Riyadh, where it has landed safely and has completed security checks,” the statement read.
It further added, “All passengers have been deplaned and are being provided hotel accommodation. The inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen disruption is sincerely regretted. Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destinations.”
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On June 16, a Hyderabad-bound Lufthansa flight made an abrupt U-turn and returned to Frankfurt after receiving a bomb threat mid-flight. The flight returned roughly two hours after take-off.
An official from the Hyderabad Airport said that the threat was received via email at around 6:01 PM. At that time, the aircraft was cruising over Bulgarian airspace. However, the airline said that they didn’t receive permission to land in India and were forced to return to Frankfurt.
Earlier that week, a Delhi-bound Air India flight made an emergency landing in Thailand after a bomb scare. All 156 passengers on flight AI 379 were escorted from the plane, in line with emergency plans, an Airports of Thailand official said. The aircraft took off from Phuket airport bound for the Indian capital at 9.30 a.m. (0230 GMT) on Friday, but made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea and landed back on the southern Thai island, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.