Vistara Mumbai-Frankfurt flight diverted to Turkey due to bomb threat | Business News
A Vistara flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt was diverted to Erzurum airport in Turkey’s eastern region on Friday due to a “security concern”, the airline said. Even as Vistara did not elaborate on the nature of the security concern, sources in the know indicated that it was a case of a bomb threat, which was ostensibly in the form of a written message noticed by a cabin crew member in one of the lavatories of the Boeing 787 aircraft operating the flight.
“Vistara flight UK 27 operating from Mumbai to Frankfurt on 06 September 2024 has been diverted to Turkey due to a security concern that was noted by our crew while onboard. The aircraft has safely landed at the Erzurum Airport. As per protocol, the relevant authorities were immediately alerted and we are fully cooperating with the security agencies to complete the mandatory security checks. At Vistara, the safety and security of our customers, crew, and aircraft remain our highest priority,” a Vistara spokesperson said.
So far it is not clear whether the threat was a hoax. If that turns out to be the case once the aircraft’s security inspection is complete, the plane will be allowed to fly on to Frankfurt. Over the past few months, a number of Indian carriers’ flights have received fake bomb threats.
As per information available on flight tracking service Flightradar24, the aircraft operating the flight and bearing registration VT-TSQ squawked 7700, which indicates a general emergency, at around 6:20 PM India time. It had taken off from Mumbai a little over five hours earlier and was three-and-a-half hours away from its destination Frankfurt.
Upon landing at the Erzurum airport, passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and bomb disposal teams were dispatched to inspect the plane as per the security protocol in such cases, it is learnt. Given that an emergency had been declared at the Erzurum airport, all flight operations from the airport were temporarily suspended.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
