NEW DELHI — An Air India Express flight traveling from Mumbai to Varanasi landed safely on Wednesday after a bomb threat triggered a full-scale security response at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, officials confirmed.
“One of our flights to Varanasi received a security threat. In line with protocol, the airport was immediately alerted, and all necessary security procedures promptly initiated,” an Air India Express spokesperson said.
The airline reported that the flight landed without incident and all passengers were safely deboarded. “The flight landed safely, and all guests have been disembarked. The aircraft will be released for operations once all mandated security checks are completed,” the spokesperson added.
Authorities at the Varanasi airport immediately issued a high alert and launched a thorough inspection of the aircraft and baggage. The nature of the threat remains under investigation.
In a separate development, sources said that budget carrier IndiGo received digital security alerts linked to five major airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram — prompting heightened surveillance measures nationwide.
Aviation security agencies, including the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and local police units, are investigating the origin and credibility of both threats. Officials said all major airports have been placed on enhanced alert as a precautionary measure.
The scare comes less than a week after flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport were severely disrupted by a technical malfunction in the Air Traffic Control system, which delayed or grounded more than 400 flights from multiple carriers. (Source: IANS)
