Delhi airport on alert after bomb threat on Moscow flight
What's the story
Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been placed on high alert by security agencies after a tip-off about the presence of a bomb on a Delhi-bound flight from Moscow, PTI reported. It said an email was received by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Thursday night warning of bombs on the flight. The Boeing 777 aircraft was carrying nearly 400 passengers.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The incident happened during a period in which numerous Indian aircraft have apparently had major technical troubles in recent weeks. In August, the Central Government also authorized airports to use private security officers instead of CISF for non-core functions, including passenger queue management and luggage check. Notably, the Aviation Security Group (ASG) abolished nearly 3,000 CISF positions last month.
Incident
What did officials say?
According to officials, the Russian carrier Aeroflot's flight landed at the IGI Airport in Delhi around 2:48 a.m. At least 386 passengers and 14 crew members were successfully evacuated following the bomb threat, they said. The flight was checked and nothing suspicious was found so far. However, they said the aircraft has still been isolated, officials told PTI.
Quote
'IGI Airport's social media site too received threat'
Some reports also suggested that the bomb threat was received through IGI Airport's control room social media. "On Thursday, at around 11:00 pm, a threat message was received at IGI Control Room's social media site regarding bombs planted on board Russian flight No. SU-232 arriving at the IGI Airport. However, the flight landed at 2:48 am safely," an official alleged.
Details
Similar incidents of bomb scare in India
This is the third such incident in the last few weeks in India. On October 3, the Indian Air Force had to scramble its fighter jets after a bomb scare on a China-bound Iranian civilian plane that was flying over Indian airspace. Similarly, a bomb threat call for a London-bound Air India flight was received at the airport on September 10.