Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand's Phuket after passenger finds bomb threat note on board
The Air India flight was headed from Phuket to Delhi; search found no bomb on board, and the passenger who found the threat note was being questioned.
An Air India flight from Phuket in Thailand headed to Delhi requested an emergency landing on Friday after a bomb threat was received on board, Reuters reported, citing Phuket's airport officials.
The aircraft landed safely and is undergoing mandatory security checks at Phuket International Airport, the official said told Reuters.
Passengers were escorted from the plane, flight AI 379, in line with emergency plans, an Airports of Thailand official said.
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"During the cruising phase of the flight a security alert was received after which the pilot took a mid-air turn back to Phuket," the official said.
It was later reported that authorities have not found any bomb inside the flight after the preliminary search.
Thai airport officials were questioning the passenger who found the bomb threat note on the aircraft.
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There were 156 passengers on the flight, and the bomb threat was received on board the plane, it said in a statement.
The aircraft took off from Phuket airport for the Indian capital at 9:30 AM local time on Friday, but made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea and landed back at the Thai island, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.
The incident follows the crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad on Thursday shortly after takeoff, in which more than 240 people were killed.
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AOT did not provide details on the bomb threat. Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Indian airlines and airports were inundated with hoax bomb threats last year, with nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages received in the first 10 months, nearly 10 times that of 2023.
