Ayodhya: Flight delay after bomb hoax

An Air India Express flight from Ayodhya to Bengaluru was delayed by almost three hours on Tuesday, October 15, following a hoax bomb threat, officials said.

The plane arrived here from Jaipur, Vinod Kumar, director of the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport, Ayodhya Dham, told PTI, confirming the emergency situation at the airport.

The situation arose following a threat from an unverified social media account, according to Air India Express officials.

"Air India Express, along with a few other operators, received a specific security threat from an unverified social media handle.

"In response, security protocols were promptly activated as directed by the government-appointed Bomb Threat Assessment Committee. The flight landed safely, and the aircraft will be released for operations following all mandated security procedures," an Air India Express spokesperson told PTI in a statement.

The Boeing 737-Max 8 aircraft, with tail sign VT-BWF, had 132 passengers on board. The aircraft arrived from Jaipur and was scheduled to go to Bengaluru after a brief halt in Ayodhya, according to an airline official.

The flight was scheduled to land at the Ayodhya airport at 2 pm but landed at 2:06 pm. It was scheduled to take off at 2:55 pm for Bengaluru but was rescheduled for 5 pm, the official told PTI around 4 pm.

Later, the airport director said the flight took off around 6 pm after a clearance from security teams.

In a statement, he said the "bomb threat call was received by the Station Manager, Air India Express, Ayodhya via social media X handle (@SCHIZOBOMBER777) at 1:41 pm for the flight".

The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) was convened at 1:52 pm, Kumar said, adding, "Full emergency declared by tower at 1355 IST and informed all concerned."

"The aircraft landed at 1401 IST and the aircraft parked on an isolation bay. All pax disembarked from aircraft and assembled in the assembly area. Checking of Air India aircraft and baggage by BDDS team completed and nothing found in the Aircraft. BTAC team cleared the flight. All operations are normal," he added.

Commercial flight operations at the Maharishi Valmiki International Airport were launched earlier this year.