Hyderabad: A bomb threat forced authorities to divert the IndiGo flight coming to Hyderabad from Saudi Arabia’s Madinah to Ahmedabad on Thursday, officials said.
The flight 6E58 with 180 passengers and six crew members landed safely at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad around 12.30 p.m.
The flight was mid-air when IndiGo reportedly received a bomb threat via email. As Ahmedabad was the nearest airport, the authorities diverted the flight there as a precautionary measure.
After the landing, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, along with local police and bomb disposal squad, conducted a thorough check of the aircraft but did not find anything suspicious.
As per information on Flightradar24, the flight, an Airbus A320, took off at 5.29 a.m. from Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport, Madinah against its scheduled departure time of 2.10 a.m.
It was expected to land at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, around 12.30 p.m.
The incident occurred amid the mass cancellations of flights of IndiGo at various airports, including Hyderabad.
The Madinah-Hyderabad flight diversion is the second such incident in three days.
On December 2, an IndiGo flight from Kuwait to Hyderabad was diverted to Mumbai after authorities at Hyderabad Airport received a bomb threat.
Flight 6E-1234 was diverted midair after a threat message was received at the customer support at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
The flight with 235 passengers was forced into emergency diversion but landed safely at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).
After the landing, the aircraft was moved to an isolated bay as part of emergency procedures. Central CISF personnel, with the help of bomb disposal squads, conducted a thorough check. All passengers and crew were safe.
On November 23, a Gulf Air flight from Bahrain to Hyderabad was diverted to Mumbai after a bomb threat was received at the Hyderabad Airport.
Flight GF274 with 154 passengers on board was diverted to the Mumbai Airport after an email was received at the Hyderabad Airport that a bomb had been planted on the aircraft.
After a thorough security check, the bomb threat proved to be a hoax. The flight later took off from Mumbai and landed at Hyderabad Airport.
(IANS)
