London-bound Vistara flight diverted to Frankfurt following bomb threat

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A London-bound Vistara flight from Delhi was diverted to Germany's Frankfurt airport following a bomb threat which later turned out to be a hoax, an official said on Saturday, PTI reported.

Early this morning, an airline spokesperson said in a statement that the flight landed safely at the Frankfurt airport. After security checks, the flight was in clear to take off and landed at its destination, London around 11:40 pm local time on Friday.

"Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024, received a security threat on social media. In line with the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt," the spokesperson said, PTI cited.

As per the official, the flight had received a bomb threat.

On Wednesday, a Vistara Frankfurt-Mumbai flight was the target of a security threat as part of the ongoing wave of bomb threats against Indian flights.

The airline said in a statement dated October 17 that Vistara aircraft UK 028 was placed in an isolation bay as soon as it touched down at Mumbai airport after receiving a security threat via social media. All passengers alighted from the flight in the isolation bay, the official added.

"Vistara flight UK 028 operating from Frankfurt to Mumbai on 16 October 2024 was subject to a security threat received on social media. As per protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed. The aircraft safely landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai and was taken to the isolation bay where all customers were disembarked. We are fully cooperating with the security agencies to complete the mandatory security checks. At Vistara, the safety and security of our customers, crew and aircraft is of utmost importance to us," Visatra Spokesperson said.

Nearly 40 Indian carrier aircraft have received bomb threats in recent days, but they later turned out to be hoaxes.

The Civil Aviation Ministry intends to implement stringent guidelines, such as adding offenders to the no-fly list, to stop incidents of hoax bomb threats against airlines.

(With inputs from PTI)