Sources at the Delhi Airport said that the bomb threat may have been a hoax. (Representative image/Pixabay)Indian security agencies received inputs of a possible bomb onboard an Airbus A340 aircraft operated by Iranian carrier Mahan Air early Monday, when the plane was in Indian airspace — leading to Air Force jets being scrambled, according to reports.
According to sources, the passenger aircraft was on its way from Tehran to Guangzhou in China when an alert was triggered. The aircraft initially started its descent from its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet to 21,000 feet while in a holding position, around 200 km west of Delhi. It then exited the holding position and climbed back up to 35,000 feet before flying westward.
According to sources, the passenger aircraft was on its way from Tehran to Guangzhou in China when an alert was triggered. (Image source: Flightradar24) It later entered the Bangladesh airspace and was on its way to China.
The Indian Air Force, in a statement, said: “On October 3, 2022, intimation was received of a bomb scare on an airline bearing Iranian registration, when it was transiting through Indian airspace. IAF fighter aircraft were scrambled, which followed the aircraft at a safe distance. The aircraft was offered the option to land at Jaipur & then, at Chandigarh. However, the pilot declared his unwillingness to divert to either of the two airports.”
It added: “After a while, intimation was received from Tehran to disregard the bomb scare, following which, the aircraft continued on its journey towards its final destination. All actions were taken by IAF as per the laid down procedure, jointly with Ministry of Civil Aviation and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The aircraft was under close radar surveillance by the Air Force throughout the Indian airspace.”
As of Monday noon, the aircraft was on its way to Guangzhou according to information sourced from flight tracking portal Flightradar24.