Air India and IndiGo flights grounded after bomb threats in India

The planes were en route from Mumbai to Jeddah, Muscat and New York

An IndiGo aircraft, left, and an Air India aircraft on the tarmac at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, on October 10. Bloomberg

Three international flights to the US and the Middle East from India were diverted or grounded on Monday after Mumbai International Airport received bomb threats.

An Air India flight carrying 239 passengers from Mumbai to New York was diverted to the capital, New Delhi, the airline said. Two IndiGo flights were the subjects of similar threats. The aircraft were taken to an isolated area for security checks, IndiGo airlines said.

Flight AI 119 from Mumbai to John F Kennedy International Airport made an emergency landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport, where all passengers and 19 crew members were safe.

The aircraft was parked at an isolated runway where security agencies, including a bomb squad, carried out checks. The passengers were moved to hotels and the flight was rescheduled for October 15, an Air India representative told The National.

The Mumbai airport had received a message on X regarding a bomb threat.

One of the IndiGo flights was bound to Muscat in Oman and the other to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

“As per protocol, the aircraft was taken to an isolated bay and following the standard operating procedure, mandatory security checks were conducted,” IndiGo said.

Air India Express is run by a fully owned division of Air India, which conglomerate Tata Group purchased from the government in 2022.

The incidents come days after an Air India Express plane bound for Sharjah was forced to make an emergency landing after a hydraulic failure was reported following take-off.

The flight, from Trichy in Tamil Nadu state to the Emirates, had 141 people on board. It returned safely to its airport of departure at 8.15pm local time (6.45pm UAE) after a full emergency was declared about two hours earlier.