An Air India flight faced high drama in the skies when a bomb threat was received shortly after takeoff. Needless to say, things got tense quickly, and the flight was forced to make an emergency landing.
According to Independent UK on Monday (October 14, 2024), Air India flight AI119 was en route from Mumbai to New York, carrying 239 passengers. The flight took off at 2:27 AM local time but was swiftly diverted to Delhi Airport after things got sketchy.
Thanks to Flightradar24, it’s clear that the Boeing 777 aircraft made it about an hour and a half into the journey before being grounded in the capital.
Usha Rangnani, a senior police officer responsible for security at Delhi Airport, confirmed that the bomb threat had been posted on X (yep, the artist formerly known as Twitter).
At about 4:10 AM, passengers were told to deboard the plane, but guess what? They had to leave their luggage behind—no exceptions. Everyone was escorted to a holding area in the airport, where they waited for further instructions. Nervous much?
Turns out, this wasn’t the only flight having a bit of a “bomb scare” day.
Flights heading from Mumbai to Jeddah (IndiGo) and another bound for Muscat were also targeted with threats. But here’s the twist: only AI119 had to turn back mid-air.
The Jeddah flight was parked in a remote bay, went through its mandatory security checks, and was cleared for takeoff with passengers likely thinking, “Is this real life right now?”
Meanwhile, passengers on the Muscat-bound flight (6E 1275) weren’t so lucky, as their departure got delayed by seven hours after a similar inspection. What a way to start a trip, right?