Air India Delhi-Chicago flight diverted to Canada after bomb threat

PTC Web Desk: Five flights faced bomb threats on Tuesday, including an Air India flight travelling from Delhi to Chicago. Following the threat, the Air India plane was diverted to Canada and landed at Iqaluit Airport. Security personnel conducted a thorough check of the passengers and their baggage upon landing.

According to Flight24 Radar, the plane departed from Delhi at 3 am and was scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 4.30 pm. Due to the bomb threats, security agencies conducted counter-terrorism drills at several airports throughout the day.

Investigations revealed that all threats originated from the same person, who posted them on the social media platform X. The threats caused significant inconvenience to hundreds of passengers. However, it was later confirmed that the bomb threats were false alarms.

Earlier, on October 9, a bomb scare disrupted Vistara Airline’s UK18 flight from London to Delhi. Around three and a half hours before reaching Delhi, a passenger found a tissue paper with a bomb threat written on it inside the plane's toilet and alerted the crew.

The flight was landed at Delhi and moved to an isolation bay, where security personnel conducted a thorough inspection of all passengers and luggage. No explosive devices were found. However, the incident raised concerns as the plane continued to fly for three and a half hours after the threat was reported.

The police questioned the crew about why the flight was not diverted to a closer location. The pilot and crew members explained that landing the flight en route posed a risk of hijacking, and thus, it was safer to proceed directly to Delhi for a controlled landing and response.