Delhi-Pune Vistara Flight Receives Hoax Bomb Threat Call, Police Register Case

A bomb threat call was received on the Delhi-Pune Vistara flight after which an inspection was conducted underway. Police found nothing suspicious i nthe search.

Airport Bomb Threat: In yet another incident of a hoax bomb threat, a call regarding a bomb on the Delhi-Pune Vistara flight was received by the GMR call centre on Friday at 8.53 am following which an inspection of the aircraft was initiated in the isolation bay at the Delhi airport, reported ANI. Now, Delhi police has said that it has found nothing suspicious and registered a call. They added that no suspicious items have been found in the aircraft after the flight was thoroughly searched inside and outside. They added no explosives or suspicious items were found.

"Nothing suspicious found till now," Delhi police was quoted as saying by ANI. Police said the search operation was called off and the bomb call was declared a hoax call. Delhi Police is now identifying the caller by registering an FIR in the matter.

Meanwhile, the airline has also responded to the matter and said that the flight was delayed 'due to mandatory security checks'.

"We confirm that the flight UK971, scheduled to fly from Delhi to Pune on 18 August 2023 is delayed due to mandatory security checks. We have been cooperating with the relevant security agencies for the same. In the meanwhile, we are making all efforts to minimize inconvenience to our customers including offering them refreshments. At Vistara, safety and security of our customers and crew is of utmost importance to us," Vistara said in a statement.

All passengers along with their luggage were deboarded safely, the agency stated.

Earlier this month, police detained a woman passenger for allegedly making a hoax bomb claim at Cochin International Airport in Kerala. The woman was allegedly irritated by the long hours taken for the check-in process. As per a PTI report, the woman's claim delayed the Mumbai-bound flight by an hour. 

The woman got annoyed by the length of time it was taking for luggage screening and claimed that there was a bomb in her luggage. After this, the luggage screening process was intensified causing a delay of around an hour in the scheduled departure of the flight, according to the sources. The woman was later kept in the custody of Nedumbassery police station.