Air India Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Phuket After Bomb Threat Note Found Onboard

An Air India flight en route from Phuket, Thailand to New Delhi made an emergency landing on Friday following a bomb threat received on board, according to a report by Reuters, citing officials at Phuket International Airport.

Flight AI 379, which had 156 passengers on board, departed from Phuket at 9:30 AM local time but turned back over the Andaman Sea after the threat was discovered. The aircraft safely landed back in Phuket, where emergency protocols were activated, an Airports of Thailand (AOT) official confirmed.

All passengers were safely evacuated in line with standard emergency procedures. Authorities conducted a preliminary search of the aircraft, but no explosive device was found. Thai airport officials are currently questioning the passenger who discovered the threat note onboard.

The incident comes just a day after the tragic crash of an Air India flight in Ahmedabad, which claimed over 240 lives, adding to heightened security concerns around Indian aviation.

Neither Air India nor AOT provided further details on the nature of the bomb threat. Air India has not yet responded to requests for comment.

This incident also comes amid a troubling trend: Indian airports and airlines have faced a surge in bomb hoaxes, with nearly 1,000 fake threats reported in the first 10 months of last year — nearly 10 times higher than in 2023.