Air India Flight Makes Emergency Landing Due to Bomb Threat 1 Day After Fatal Plane Crash

Yahoo

13-06-2025

An Air India flight had to circle back to Phuket, Thailand to make an emergency landing on Friday, June 13, following reports of a bomb threat
A note was found in the aircraft's bathroom, per a post on the airport's Facebook page
Authorities have since confirmed that no explosives or suspicious objects had been discovered and the emergency has now been called offAn Air India flight has had to be diverted following reports of a bomb threat, one day after hundreds of people died in a tragedy involving one of the airline's planes.
On Friday, June 13, flight AI 379 was heading from Phuket to New Delhi in India when it had to make an emergency landing back on the Thai island, per a Phuket International Airport - HKT Facebook post, which was reshared on the Airports of Thailand (AOT) page.
AOT is a public company that manages multiple international airports in the country.
The Facebook post stated that the pilot had been "informed to bring the aircraft back to Phuket Airport" after a bomb threat note was found inside a bathroom on the aircraft, which had been carrying 156 passengers and eight crew members.
"Authorities have confirmed that no explosives or suspicious objects were found," the post stated.
Monchai Tanode, director of Phuket International Airport, said of the incident, "We received a report of a bomb threat written inside the aircraft's bathroom, so the pilot informed the control tower and decided to divert the flight to Phuket International Airport after circling to burn off fuel," per the BBC.
Tanode added during a press conference, "Police took suspects for questioning but could not clearly say who wrote the note," Reuters reported.
There were initially three suspects, who have all since been cleared, the news agency noted, citing Air India official Debasish Choudhury.
According to data from flight tracker Flightradar24, the aircraft had taken off from Phuket at 9:30 a.m. local time, before being diverted back to the airport, and later taking off for New Delhi at 4:28 p.m.
Air India and Phuket International Airport didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.
The incident came a day after Air India Flight AI171 crashed on the afternoon of Thursday, June 12, just after takeoff from Ahmedabad in India. The jet had been bound for London's Gatwick airport.
Citing health officials, CNN reported that at least 290 people have now been pronounced dead. The outlet noted that the plane crashed into a hostel for doctors.
The airline confirmed in a statement on X that there was a "sole survivor" out of the 230 passengers and 12 crew on board.
The airline did not identify the living passenger beyond saying they are a British citizen "of Indian origin" who is being "treated in a hospital."
However, multiple local reports have since identified the man as 40-year-old Vishwash Kumar Ramesh.
After the crash, the airline shared a post on X confirming "the passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals and 1 Canadian national."
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Video footage that emerged online showed the plane descending quickly to the ground right after it took off. It was then seemingly consumed by a large fireball. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
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