Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat

Phuket airport officials say no explosives found after preliminary search

Indian airlines and airports were inundated with hoax bomb threats last year, with nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages received in the first 10 months. Reuters

An Air India plane flying from Phuket in Thailand to New Delhi received an onboard bomb threat on Friday and made an emergency landing on the island, airport authorities said.

All 156 passengers on flight AI 379 were escorted from the plane, in line with emergency plans, an Airports of Thailand official said.

The aircraft took off from Phuket airport at 9.30am (0230 GMT) on Friday, bound for the Indian capital, but made a wide loop around the Andaman Sea and landed back on the southern Thai island, according to flight tracker Flightradar24.

The incident follows the crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad on Thursday shortly after takeoff, in which more than 240 people were killed.

Airport officials did not provide details on the bomb threat. Air India did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Indian airlines and airports were inundated with hoax bomb threats last year, with nearly 1,000 hoax calls and messages received in the first 10 months, nearly 10 times that of 2023.