Back-to-Back Bomb Threats: IndiGo Airbus A321neo Makes Emergency Landing

As I said in previous articles, bomb threats at Indian airports are becoming a huge problem. And with every passing day, I am proved. On the second consecutive day, an aircraft received a bomb threat while in the air. Yesterday, it was a Vistara Airbus A320neo at Srinagar. Now, it is an IndiGo Airbus A321neo, which made an emergency landing at Mumbai Airport.

IndiGo Airbus A321neo Makes Emergency Landing

An Airbus A321neo of IndiGo, registered as VT-IMW was operating flight 6E5314 from Chennai International Airport (MAA) to Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM). The aircraft departed on time at 06:57 AM and was scheduled to arrive at Mumbai Airport at 08:40 AM.

When the aircraft was in the air, it received a bomb threat. The crew onboard found a note in the aircraft’s lavatory stating there was a bomb inside. The pilots were alerted. An emergency was declared at Mumbai Airport, with emergency equipment on standby.

The aircraft made an emergency landing at Mumbai Airport, following which all the passengers were safely deboarded. The Airbus A321neo was taken to an isolation bay, where it was thoroughly searched by security agencies.

IndiGo, in a statement, confirmed the incident. It said that the pilots and cabin crew members followed the established protocols and took the aircraft to the isolation bay. After completion of all the searches, the aircraft will be brought back to the terminal area for operating its next leg of the day.

As Always: Threat Declared Hoax

After thoroughly searching the aircraft, the security agencies at Mumbai Airport found nothing suspicious. The Bomb Threat Contingency Committee has declared the threat as a hoax. Further investigation is underway.

The Airbus A321neo involved in this incident is registered as VT-IMW. This one is a new aircraft with an age of just 1.6 years. It was delivered to IndiGo in October 2022. Fitted with CFM engines, this aircraft has 232 seats in an all-economy configuration.

In June 2023, this very same aircraft was involved in a tail strike incident at Ahmedabad Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (AMD). It was flying from Bengaluru to Ahmedabad. During landing at Ahmedabad, the tail struck the ground. It returned to service on 2 August 2023.

Not The First Incident

In the past week, there have been three incidents in which aircraft received fake bomb threats. Recently, IndiGo flight 6E2211 had to undergo a full-scale evacuation at Delhi Airport. The wet-leased A320ceo was flying from Delhi to Varanasi when the crew found a note in the lavatory saying @bomb 5:30. This sparked havoc causing the captain to instruct for immediate evacuation. Emergency slides were deployed and the evacuation was completed in 66 seconds.

Just yesterday, a Vistara Airbus A320neo was approaching Srinagar Airport, when the ATC tower at Srinagar received a call in which the caller alleged that there was a bomb inside the arriving Vistara aircraft. Following full deboarding, the aircraft was taken to the isolation bay. In all these cases, the threats are found to be hoaxes and non-credible.

People need to understand that airports are not a joke, they are sensitive spots. Even if you jokingly whisper the word “bomb”, the agencies will deal with you as if you belong to a terrorist organization. No one can stop you from being detained. Therefore, always behave responsibly and respectfully at an airport.

Conclusion: IndiGo A321neo Gets Bomb Threat

An IndiGo Airbus A321neo was flying from Chennai to Mumbai when the crew members found a note in the aircraft lavatory. The note stated that there was a bomb inside the aircraft. The pilots were alerted, who informed Mumbai ATC regarding the same. The IndiGo Airbus A321neo was given priority to land, following which it was taken to isolation bay. The threat has been declared a hoax.

What do you think about such hoax bomb threats? Discuss in the comment section.