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A GULF AIR flight from Bahrain to Hyderabad was re-routed after a bomb threat was received at the airport in the south Indian city.
Passengers flying on GF274 departed from Bahrain at 10.33pm on Saturday, and were flown to Mumbai, after the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad received a bomb threat, which later turned out to be a hoax, according to reports in the Indian media.
“Gulf Air would like to clarify that flight GF274, which was heading from Bahrain (BHR) to Hyderabad (HYD), was diverted to Mumbai Airport (BOM) in accordance with security and safety requirements,” the kingdom’s national carrier said, in a statement yesterday.
“The aircraft landed safely and continued its journey after the relevant authorities completed the approved safety protocols, arriving at its final destination at Hyderabad Airport.”
According to aviation data provider FlightAware, the Airbus A320neo landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai at 4.14am Indian Standard Time (IST) (1.44am Bahrain time).
At 10.35am local time (8.05am Bahrain time), it flew to RGIA, arriving at 11.31am IST (9.01am Bahrain time).
The original flight route would have got passengers to RGIA by 4.55am (2.25am Bahrain time).
According to Indian media outlets, an email claiming that a bomb would go off in the arrivals area of RGIA was sent to the airport’s administration.
Sniffer dogs and bomb disposal squads were used to investigate unattended baggage and suspicious objects, while passengers and staff at the airport were instructed to co-operate with authorities.
The airport has received numerous such threats in the past several months, but so far, all have turned out to be hoaxes.
Security checks at airports across India have been stepped up in the aftermath of the car explosion in India’s capital earlier this month.
On November 10, a car exploded near the Red Fort in Delhi, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 20 others.
According to the Delhi Police, there were two to three people inside the car at the time of the explosion.
The preliminary police findings indicated that the blast may have been a possible suicide attack, and two days later, the Indian government labelled the incident as a terrorist act, and further investigations are underway.
Arrests conducted in the city led to the seizure of more than 2,900kg of explosives.
After the incident, security was tightened across the region with increased checks, patrols and surveillance at crowded locations.
Security levels were also raised in other major cities across the country.
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