Air India Flight From UK's Birmingham To Delhi Diverted To Riyadh After Hoax Bomb Threat
An Air India flight from Birmingham to Delhi was diverted to Riyadh on Friday after receiving a bomb threat mid-air. All passengers onboard flight AI114 are safe, the airline confirmed in a statement today.
The aircraft made an emergency landing at Riyadh airport, where security agencies conducted a full sweep of the plane. No explosive material was found during the inspection.
"The aircraft has landed safely, all passengers have been deplaned, and security checks have been completed," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.
Passengers are being accommodated in hotels while the airline is arranging their travel to Delhi.
Riyadh was chosen as the diversion point due to its proximity and availability of emergency handling facilities. Passengers of the flight are expected to depart from Riyadh for Delhi within the next 24 hours.
The incident comes at a time when Air India and Air India Express are already facing operational headwinds. The two carriers together operate over 1,100 flights daily, transporting more than 1.5 lakh passengers.
The aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed Air India to implement enhanced pre-flight safety checks and temporarily reduce some services to improve operational stability and minimize last-minute flight disruptions.
Despite these efforts, the airline cited factors beyond its control-such as airspace closures in the Middle East, night curfews at airports in Europe and East Asia, and general air traffic congestion-as causes for delays and cancellations.
"We try to inform passengers in advance in case of known delays or cancellations. However, in some cases, such as security threats or unexpected operational issues, there may be last-minute disruptions," the airline said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Air India To Scale Back Narrow-Body Operations Across 19 Routes Until Mid-July
New Delhi: Air India has announced a considerable but temporary five per cent reduction in its narrow-body flight operations across select domestic and short-haul international routes, citing the need to bolster operational stability. Until 15 July, the airline is temporarily suspending services on three routes and reducing frequency on 19 routes. The airline is suspending services between Bengaluru-Singapore, Pune-Singapore and Mumbai-Bagdogra - each route losing all seven weekly rotations. Key domestic arteries like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Pune, and Mumbai's links to Goa, Hyderabad and other metros have also seen scaled-back schedules with reduced frequency, thereby losing between five and twelve weekly flights in each sector. This announcement comes after Air India had slashed 15 per cent of its long-haul wide-body operations across international routes following the June 12 AI 171 Dreamliner crash at Ahmedabad. Besides regulatory pressure, the airline is grappling with Middle Eastern airspace closures and night-time curfews in European and East Asian sectors. These factors have already caused 83 wide-body flight cancellations in recent days. According to the airline, the reductions are aimed at strengthening Air India's network-wide operational stability and minimising last-minute inconvenience to passengers. As the airline recalibrates its network and pursues "maximum caution", Air India seeks to assure passengers that full schedules will resume as soon as inspections clear and airspace conditions stabilise.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
Air India cuts narrowbody flights by 5%, suspends three routes till July
Three days after announcing a 15 per cent reduction in its international widebody operations, Air India on Sunday said it would curtail narrowbody services, both domestic and international, by about five per cent until mid-July. The latest cuts include the suspension of three routes and a reduction in frequencies across 19 others, in a move the airline said was aimed at maintaining schedule reliability and minimising last-minute passenger disruption. The suspended services include daily international flights on the Bengaluru–Singapore and Pune–Singapore routes, along with the Mumbai–Bagdogra domestic route. All three routes operated seven times a week and will remain off the schedule until at least July 15. The changes follow the June 12 crash of Air India flight AI171, which plunged into a residential area in Ahmedabad shortly after take-off for London, killing 241 people on board and 34 on the ground. The crash left just one survivor. On June 13, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered enhanced safety inspections of Air India's fleet of 33 Boeing 787 aircraft. As a result, the airline last week suspended services on several long-haul international routes operated by widebody aircraft. According to Air India, its narrowbody schedule will see reduced frequencies on major trunk and secondary routes. On the Delhi–Mumbai sector, flights will reduce from 176 to 165 per week, while Delhi–Hyderabad services will drop from 84 to 76. Other key changes from Delhi include a cut on the Delhi–Kolkata route from 70 to 63 weekly flights, and Delhi–Indore from 21 to 14. Both Goa airports will also see fewer services from Delhi: flights to Dabolim will reduce from 14 to 7, and those to Mopa from 14 to 7 per week. Delhi–Lucknow will drop from 28 to 21, Delhi–Pune from 59 to 54, and Delhi–Coimbatore from 13 to 12. From Mumbai, several high-density routes are affected. Flights to Bengaluru will reduce from 91 to 84 per week, and to Hyderabad from 63 to 59. Mumbai–Kolkata will go from 42 to 30 weekly, and Mumbai–Kochi from 40 to 34. Other reductions include Mumbai–Ahmedabad (41 to 37), Mumbai–Coimbatore (21 to 16), Mumbai–Goa Dabolim (34 to 29), and Mumbai–Varanasi (12 to 7). Despite the temporary curtailments, the airline will continue to operate close to 600 daily narrowbody flights on 120 domestic and short-haul international routes. Affected passengers are being contacted with options for rebooking, rescheduling or full refunds. The airline said it remains committed to restoring its full schedule 'as soon as practicable' while continuing to prioritise the safety of its passengers, crew and aircraft. Air India had on June 19 said it continued to undertake voluntary pre-flight checks beyond mandatory requirements, in addition to dealing with longer flight durations caused by ongoing airspace closures in parts of the Middle East. These measures have strained aircraft availability and forced operational adjustments across both its widebody and narrowbody networks. Amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East due to the Israel–Iran conflict, Air India on Sunday evening said it had taken further precautionary steps to ensure the safety of its operations. A spokesperson said the airline's flights currently do not operate over the airspaces of Iran, Iraq and Israel. As a proactive measure, it will also begin progressively avoiding certain parts of the Persian Gulf airspace in the coming days. This adjustment will affect flights to destinations including the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, and may result in extended flight durations. Some services to and from Europe and North America may also be impacted. The airline said it is in constant consultation with external security advisers and is closely monitoring the situation. It added that additional measures will be implemented if required, and passengers will be kept informed of any updates. 'The safety and security of our passengers, staff, and aircraft remain our number one priority,' the spokesperson said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
an hour ago
- Business Standard
AI114 diverted to Riyadh after bomb threat; all passengers safe
Air India flight AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi was diverted to Riyadh after a mid-air bomb threat on 21 June with passengers deplaned safely and no explosives found Manikant Mishra New Delhi After over a week since Air India flight AI717 from Ahmedabad to London crash-landed shortly after take-off, another incident occurred involving Air India flight AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi on 21 June. According to an airline spokesperson, the aircraft received a bomb threat mid-flight. Following the alert, the plane was diverted to Riyadh and landed safely. Security teams conducted thorough checks, but no explosives were found. The incident was considered a hoax. Passengers on the flight were safely deplaned and accommodated in hotels. The airline also confirmed that alternative travel arrangements are underway to ensure passengers reach their destination. The spokesperson said Riyadh was chosen for diversion due to its location and the availability of emergency services. According to Air India's official statement: 'Air India and Air India Express together operate more than 1,100 flights a day, flying over 150,000 passengers. 'As announced, Air India has voluntarily undertaken enhanced pre-flight safety checks and temporary reduction of services to uphold its commitment to safe operations. This will improve stability and will minimise last-minute inconvenience to passengers. 'However, despite all efforts, due to extraneous factors such as airspace closures in the Middle East, night-time curfews at several airports in Europe and East Asia, air traffic congestion, and unforeseen operational issues, certain flights get delayed or cancelled. We notify passengers ahead of time to reduce inconvenience in case of planned delays or cancellations, but sometimes, certain challenges lead to last-minute disruptions. 'Flight AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi on 21 June received a bomb threat and was consequently diverted to Riyadh where it has landed safely and has completed security checks. All passengers have been deplaned and are being provided hotel accommodation. Inconvenience caused to our passengers due to this unforeseen disruption is sincerely regretted. Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destinations.'
