NEW DELHI: The troubles surrounding Dreamliner aircraft operating in India continued, as an Air India Boeing 787-8 en route from Birmingham, England, to Delhi made an emergency landing in Riyadh on Sunday following a midair bomb threat. Subsequent thorough checks at King Khalid International Airport confirmed the threat to be a hoax.
According to flight tracking data, flight AI 114 departed from Birmingham on Saturday, June 21, at 8:26 pm (local time) and was scheduled to arrive at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday at 10:38 am after a journey of nearly 10 hours. The bomb threat was received while the aircraft was in transit, prompting an immediate diversion to Riyadh as a precautionary measure.
Air India confirmed the incident in an official statement: “Flight AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi on June 21 received a bomb threat and was consequently diverted to Riyadh, where it landed safely and completed all necessary security checks. All passengers were deplaned and are being provided with hotel accommodation.”
The airline expressed regret for the disruption caused. “The inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen disruption is sincerely regretted. Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their intended destinations,” it added.
This marks the second hoax bomb threat received by Air India in just ten days. On June 13, flight AI 379 from Thailand to New Delhi, carrying 156 passengers, was forced to return to Phuket after a bomb threat note was discovered on the lavatory wall just 20 minutes into the flight. That aircraft, an Airbus A320, was also found to be safe after emergency procedures were followed.