Vistara's London-Delhi flight receives bomb threat; plane lands safely in national capital

A Vistara plane carrying nearly 290 passengers from London to Delhi on Wednesday received a bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax following a thorough inspection of the aircraft after it landed safely at the airport in the national capital, according to sources. The sources said that a piece of paper with a message about a bomb onboard the plane was found in one of the lavatories, and the relevant authorities were immediately informed.

Delhi Police said standard security protocols were followed, and a thorough inspection was conducted.

"No suspicious items were found," it said in a statement.

The Airport Operations Control Centre (AOCC) at Delhi was informed about the bomb threat at 0845 hours and later the aircraft landed safely at the airport at 1145 hours.

"It was informed that a note was discovered in the lavatory of the flight with the message: 'BOMB THIS FLIGHT'," Delhi Police said, adding that all passengers disembarked without incident.

The sources said there were nearly 290 passengers in the Boeing 787 aircraft.

Soon after the paper with the threat message was discovered while the aircraft was in the air, the crew carried out a search but did not find anything suspicious. So, it was decided that there was no need for diversion, and the aircraft continued to fly to Delhi, they added.

An airline spokesperson said a security concern was noted by its staff operating the flight UK 018 while it was coming from London to Delhi.

In line with the protocol, the relevant authorities were immediately informed, and the aircraft was taken to the isolation bay for mandatory checks after landing safely at the Delhi airport.

"We fully cooperated with the relevant authorities in completing the necessary security checks," the spokesperson said in a statement.