In Third Such Instance In a Week, Vistara Flight Faces Bomb-Scare

In the third such instance in a week, a Vistara flight from Paris carrying 306 people faced a bomb scare, thus making an emergency landing at Mumbai airport on Sunday.

According to sources, a handwritten note on an airsickness bag, threatening bomb blast was found by the airline.

As a result, a full-scale emergency declared at 7:08 am, thus landing it safely at 10:19 am.

Later, the flight was transferred to an isolated bay for security checks.

Issuing the statement, Vistara spokesperson said, “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 official added that “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.”

This marks the third instance of airlines reporting bomb scare incidents. But these previous incidents occurred only on domestic flights.

On Saturday, an indigo flight bound for Mumbai from Chennai, also received a bomb threat, thus resulting in an emergency landing.

Earlier, it happened on May 28 from Delhi to Varanasi flight.

What Happened In previous incidents

On the Mumbai-bound indigo flight, a bomb threat was reported while it was en route to its destination. A source revealed that an unclaimed remote was discovered on the aircraft. Subsequently, the pilot contacted Mumbai air traffic control to request an emergency landing.

During a flight bound for Varanasi, an indigo aircraft carrying 176 passengers received a bomb threat. Following the alert, passengers were evacuated through the emergency exits at Delhi airport.

According to viral videos, passengers and flight crew were evacuated via slides, carrying their cabin baggage with them.

Meanwhile, according to safety norms, the evacuation should be completed within 90 minutes and the cabin baggage should be left behind in the flight.

In addition, the passengers shouldn’t carry any items and even footwear like stilettos should be removed, as inflatable slides can be easily damaged.

In the aftermath of the Delhi’s incident, Indigo removed two pilots and cabin crew members for not adhering to SOPs on evacuation.