New Delhi-bound Air India flight returns to Phuket following security alert
The number of passengers on board the Airbus A320neo remains undisclosed, and details of the security concern are still awaited
Guwahati, June 13: A New Delhi-bound Air India flight was forced to return to Phuket on Friday due to a security alert, a spokesperson for the airline confirmed.
The Airbus A320neo landed safely at Phuket International Airport and is currently undergoing standard security checks. The number of passengers aboard the flight has not been disclosed, and the specific nature of the threat is yet to be confirmed.
Tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the aircraft making a mid-air U-turn before safely landing back on the Thai island. Air India has not yet issued an official statement on the incident.
999 hoax bomb threats issued to Indian airlines in 2024
This incident comes amid a concerning rise in hoax bomb threats targeting Indian airlines and airports. In a statement to Parliament in late 2024, Deputy Civil Aviation Minister Murlidhar Mohol revealed that airlines in India had received 999 hoax threats between January and November—nearly ten times more than the previous year.
Over 500 of these threats were issued in just the last two weeks of October 2024, causing widespread disruption across the aviation sector. Though all threats were found to be fake, they severely affected flight schedules, with several planes delayed, diverted, or subjected to emergency landings.
Authorities registered 256 police complaints, resulting in 12 arrests.
In one instance, Singapore’s Air Force scrambled two fighter jets to escort an Air India Express flight after a hoax threat. In another, an Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago had to land at a remote Canadian airport, with passengers later transported by a Canadian Air Force aircraft.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has since assured that all necessary steps are being taken to ensure the safety and security of passengers and flight operations.