An Air India Express plane was forced to make an emergency landing after facing a bomb threat while in the air.
The plane, which was carrying 176 passengers and crew members for a scheduled two-hour flight, was evacuated on Wednesday following the threat.
While travelling from Mumbai to Varanasi, both in India, the plane was forced to make a swift landing.
The plane landed at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi – and emergency protocols were immediately put into place.
All 176 people on board the plane were evacuated and there were no injuries, The Independent reported.
Bomb disposal experts then carried out comprehensive security inspections of the aircraft.
No suspicious items were found during the search.
The plane is still in the isolation bay while it awaits security checks before it can return to service.
An Air India Express plane was forced to make an emergency landing after facing a bomb threat while in the air (stock)
The United News Of India reported that the threat had turned out to be a hoax.
An Air India Express spokesman said in a statement: ‘One of our flights to Varanasi received a security threat.
‘In line with protocol, the Government-appointed Bomb Threat Assessment Committee was immediately alerted, and all necessary security procedures promptly initiated.
‘The flight landed safely and all guests have been disembarked.
‘The aircraft will be released for operations once all mandated security checks are completed.’
Air India Express worked with government security agencies during the response.
The threat extended to other Indian airlines. IndiGo received digital threats targeting five major airports in the country, including Mumbai and Delhi.
The Daily Mail has contacted Air India for comment.
An Air India Express spokesman said in a statement that the flight landed safely and all guests were disembarked
It comes after it was reported last week that Air India grounded three Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners for ‘extensive investigations’ after a crash killed 260 people earlier this year.
The accident resulted in the deaths of 169 Indian nationals and 52 British citizens on the London-bound flight.
Meanwhile, 19 people on the ground were also killed.
Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 hours of experience, was named as the pilot.
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