Delhi-London Vistara Flight Makes Emergency Landing In Frankfurt After Bomb Threat

Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024, received a security threat on social media.

According to an official in the know, the flight had received a bomb threat (File Image: Getty)

Source : Getty images

A Vistara flight, en route from Delhi to London, has to make an emergency landing in Frankfurt on Friday following a bomb threat. The flight was safely landed at the Frankfurt airport where mandatory security checks were carried out. The flight proceeded to its destination after receiving clearance from the authorities.

"Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024, received a security threat on social media. In line with the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt," the statement said.

"Flight UK17 which was diverted to Frankfurt has departed from Frankfurt at 2332 LT and is expected to arrive in London at 2330 LT," it added.

#DiversionUpdate: Flight UK17 from Delhi to London (DEL-LHR) has been diverted to Frankfurt (FRA) and is expected to arrive in Frankfurt at 2110 LT ( Local Time). Please stay tuned for further updates.

— Vistara (@airvistara) October 18, 2024

According to an official in the know, the flight had received a bomb threat.

The data from flight-tracking sites showed that Boeing 787 landed in Frankfurt at 9.02 pm (local time). It took off from there 2.5 hours later for its destination where it landed at 11.32 pm (all timings local).

Meanwhile, Akasa Air said its flight QP 1366 scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday received a security alert shortly before departure. "Hence as per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deplaned as the local authorities followed necessary procedures. We request your understanding as our team on the ground did everything possible to reduce inconvenience," the airline said in a post on X.

In the past few days, nearly 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.

The Civil Aviation Ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators in the no-fly list.