Air India Express flight from Dubai to Jaipur target of email bomb hoax

Nothing suspicious found in plane on arrival in India, but two other flights were threatened in 24 hours

Since Monday, at least 40 flights by Indian airlines have received bomb threats, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. AFP

An Air India Express flight from Dubai to Jaipur, with 189 passengers on board, received a bomb threat on Saturday by email, adding to a long list of hoax calls to Indian airlines over the past week.

The flight landed safely at 1.20am local time, when Indian security forces checked the aircraft. “Nothing suspicious was found,” Sandeep Basera, from Jaipur Airport police, told the news agency ANI.

A flight from Jaipur to Dubai was also delayed, leaving at 7.45am on Saturday instead of the scheduled 6.10am. The National has asked Air India for a statement.

Two other flights received bomb threats in less than 24 hours. A London-bound Vistara flight from Delhi (UK17) was diverted to Frankfurt, Germany, while an Akasa Air flight (QP 1366) from Bengaluru to Mumbai was also the subject of a bomb threat.

A representative of Vistara said flight UK17 was diverted to Frankfurt on Friday “as a precautionary measure”.

Since Monday, at least 40 flights have been threatened, all of which turned out to be hoaxes. The calls have prompted the Indian civil aviation ministry to review penalties for the offence, including a no-fly ban for five years.

Authorities have reportedly blocked or suspended about 10 social media accounts suspected of being channels for hoax threats.