Summary
- A bomb threat on board an Air India flight from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram forced the latter airport to issue an emergency alert.
- After landing, Air India’s Airbus A320neo taxied to a remote stand for additional security checks.
- None of the passengers or crew were injured in the incident.
A bomb threat was received against an Air India flight, forcing the plane to taxi to a remote location, and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (TRV) had to declare a brief state of emergency due to the bomb threat.
Bomb threat
According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), a bomb threat was received at a Air India Flight from Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) to TRV, which triggered an emergency alarm at the latter airport.
After conducting extensive checks on the Air India aircraft, local authorities lifted the emergency alert for TRV, PTI added.
Photo: Rahul Sapra | Shutterstock
Air India flight AI657 was operated by Airbus A320neo registered as VT-EXJ, as data from Flightradar24 showed.
The aircraft departed BOM at 5:58 am local time (UTC +5:30) and landed in TRV at 7:51 am after a flight of one hour and 53 minutes.
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Rolling to a remote location
The flight history shows that after landing at TRV, Air India’s A320neo taxied to a remote stand where security checks were carried out.
Videos shared on social media (including X, formerly Twitter) showed the aircraft being parked remotely and emergency services surrounding the A320neo.
Photo: Skycolors | Shutterstock
According to a statement from TRV, the plane reported a bomb threat at around 7:30 a.m. and a state of emergency was declared at the airport at 7:36 a.m.
No passengers or crew members were affected by the incident, the statement added. However, TRV operations continued as normal.
Air India stated that the crew of flight AI657 noticed an emergency while the A320neo was still en route between BOM and TRV. On the ground, the airline’s staff followed all safety procedures and the passengers disembarked the aircraft safely.
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The flight ended with less than 350 kg (772 lbs) of fuel on board.
One of two daily flights
Flight AI657 is one of the two daily flights operated by Air India on the BOM – TRV route; flight AI667 is the other, with the latter departing BOM at 17:40 hrs.
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, Air India will operate a 162-seat Airbus A320neo (12 business class, 150 economy class) on route AI657, while flight A667 will operate a 180-seat A320ceo in a pure economy class configuration.
Other airlines serving this route are indigo and Vistara, which is planning a merger with Air India. Both airlines operate daily flights from BOM to TRV.
Photo: WeChitra | Shutterstock
The IndiGo flight departs BOM at 10:35 am, while Vistaras will leave the former airport at 09:45. The budget airline has deployed an A320neo with 186 seats in economy class, while Vistara uses an A320ceo with eight business and 156 economy class seats for the route from BOM to TRV.
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