New Delhi: Officials confirmed on Saturday that three of Vistara's overseas flights that received bomb threats were hoaxes and that one of the aircraft was diverted to Frankfurt as a precaution.
A Vistara representative issued a statement stating that the three flights that operate out of Delhi received security threats on social media on Friday. In accordance with protocol, the pertinent authorities were swiftly notified.
The officials said the flights to London, Paris and Hong Kong from the national capital received bomb threats that later turned out to be hoaxes.
"Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London was diverted to Frankfurt as a precautionary measure. The aircraft landed at Frankfurt Airport safely and we fully cooperated with the authorities to complete the necessary checks following which, the flight was cleared to conclude the journey," the spokesperson said.
The flight later landed in London at around 1140 pm local time on Friday.
The airline also said that flight UK21 operating from Delhi to Paris landed safely at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. The aircraft was taken to the isolation bay for the mandatory security checks and then later cleared to resume operations.
According to the airline, the flight UK161 operating from Delhi to Hong Kong landed safely at the Hong Kong International Airport and all security procedures were adhered to.
Meanwhile, Akasa Air on Saturday early morning said its flight QP 1366 scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday received a security alert shortly before departure.
"Hence as per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deplaned as the local authorities followed necessary procedures. We request your understanding as our team on the ground did everything possible to reduce inconvenience," the airline said in a post on X.
A Dubai-Jaipur Air India Express flight made an emergency landing at the Jaipur airport in the early hours of Saturday due to a bomb threat, which later turned out to be a hoax, officials said.
After authorities were alerted about the threat, an emergency was declared at the airport. The flight with 189 passengers onboard landed safely at the airport at 1.20 am, an official said, adding that the plane was checked thoroughly but nothing suspicious was found.
In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.
The Civil Aviation Ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators on the no-fly list.
With PTI inputs