Lufthansa Hyderabad-Bound Flight Returns to Frankfurt After Bomb Threat, Denied Landing Clearance

A Lufthansa flight en route to Hyderabad was forced to turn back mid-flight and return to Frankfurt Airport on Sunday after receiving a bomb threat and being denied landing clearance in India.

Flight LH752 had departed Frankfurt and was scheduled to land at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport early Monday. However, the aircraft reversed course while still outside Indian airspace.

“We did not receive a permit to land in Hyderabad, and that’s why the aircraft took a U-turn and returned,” Lufthansa was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. A senior Hyderabad airport official confirmed the aircraft’s return, attributing it to a bomb threat received while the plane was still en route.

Due to the threat and absence of clearance, the aircraft did not enter Indian airspace and flew back to Germany. The incident has raised questions, with differing explanations from the airline and airport authorities—one citing landing clearance issues, the other pointing to the bomb threat.

No additional information has been released about the threat’s nature or the condition of the passengers and crew onboard.

This marks the second bomb threat incident involving an international flight to India in recent days. On June 13, Air India flight AI 379, travelling from Phuket to New Delhi, was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff due to a similar threat.

Authorities are currently investigating both incidents, which have heightened security concerns for international arrivals into the country.