A full emergency was declared at Mumbai airport today after a handwritten bomb threat note was discovered on a Vistara flight which had departed from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The crew reported about the threat note on an airsickness bag at 10:08am and the plane, carrying 294 passengers and 12 crew members, landed safely at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 10:19am.
A spokesperson for Vistara Airlines released a statement confirming the incident: “We confirm that a security concern has been noted by our staff while onboard Vistara flight UK 024 operating from Paris to Mumbai on 2 June 2024.”
“Following the protocol, we immediately informed the relevant authorities. The flight has landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai and we are fully cooperating with the security agencies for all the mandatory checks,” the spokesperson added.
The bomb threat on the Vistara flight was made just a day after an IndiGo flight from Varanasi to New Delhi received a similar threat, which police, after a thorough checking, determined was a hoax.
According to a Delhi Police officer, a female caller informed the airport security that her husband, travelling on the IndiGo flight, was carrying a bomb in his handbag.
The passenger in question, Vimal Kumar, 42, a resident of Meerut, was interrogated. Kumar told the police that his wife made the call after watching news about a bomb threat on an aircraft a few days before as she is “mentally unfit”, reported PTI.
The police said that his claims are being verified and further legal action is underway.
In a statement, the airline said flight 6E 2232, operating from Varanasi to Delhi, had received a bomb threat.
“Upon landing in Delhi, the aircraft was taken to an isolation bay as per security agency guidelines and the crew followed all standard operating procedures,” it said.
According to the airline, all passengers have safely disembarked and the aircraft is currently undergoing inspection.