An Air India flight en route from Phuket, Thailand, to New Delhi was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday following a bomb threat onboard, according to the Airports of Thailand.
The flight, operated by an Airbus A320, had just departed from Phuket when the pilot alerted air traffic control that a bomb threat message had been discovered onboard. In response, the aircraft made a swift U-turn over the Andaman Sea and circled repeatedly off the island’s coast before returning to the airport for an emergency landing.
The incident caused a stir just a day after a tragic crash involving a London-bound Air India passenger jet in Ahmedabad, India, which claimed the lives of at least 265 people both onboard and on the ground.
FlightRadar24, a global flight tracking service, confirmed the aircraft’s abrupt course change shortly after takeoff, showing its route deviation and return to Phuket.
Authorities are yet to confirm whether the bomb threat was credible, but security agencies have launched an investigation into the incident. No casualties or injuries were reported in the Phuket incident, and passengers were safely evacuated as bomb disposal teams combed the aircraft.
