A Delhi-bound Air India flight returned to Phuket on Friday, June 13, following a bomb threat alert. The aircraft landed safely, and all passengers onboard were safe. The aircraft is undergoing mandatory security checks at Phuket International Airport. The number of passengers onboard the Airbus A320neo plane could not be immediately ascertained.
The Air India flight AI-379 to Indira Gandhi International Airport, carrying 156 passengers, took off from Phuket International Airport (HKT) in Bangkok at 9:30 AM. Twenty minutes later, the flight was diverted back to Phuket due to a bomb threat.
"During the cruising phase of the flight a security alert was received after which the pilot took a mid-air turn back to Phuket," the official told the news agency PTI.
According to the live flight tracking website Flightradar24, the flight, AI 379, took off from Phuket at 930 (local time) and was scheduled to land in Delhi at 1240 hours (local time). However, it landed back at the Phuket International Airport at 1146 (local time), according to the website.
The Air India official said all passengers and their baggage have been deplaned, adding that security agencies are scanning both passengers and cargo.