An Azur Air flight carrying tourists to India’s popular beach destination Goa had to land in Jamnagar in the Indian state of Gujarat following a bomb threat. The Indian Air Force jumped into action and had less than an hour to prepare for the plane’s landing. The aircraft was eventually given the all-clear and was allowed to depart for Goa the next day.

Bomb threat

On January 9th, Azur Air flight ZF2401 departed Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport for Goa at around 13:00. It looked like a routine flight, and FlightRadar24.com shows that the aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet, as it entered India’s airspace over the state of Gujarat.

However, authorities were alerted to a bomb threat on the flight, and the aircraft was made to land at Jamnagar Airport. The airport is handled by the Indian Air Force (IAF), which had approximately 50 minutes to prepare for the landing of the Azur Air plane (a Boeing 757-200).

According to The Indian Express, an officer of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said that they received inputs from the Central government agencies that Azur Air had received an email claiming there was a bomb onboard its Goa-bound flight. The Russian Embassy also made a statement regarding the incident,

“The Embassy was alerted by Indian authorities about an alleged bomb scare on Azur Air flight from Moscow to Goa. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Jamnagar Indian Air Force Base. Everyone on board is safe; authorities conducting an inspection of the aircraft.”

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Goa bound, finally

The aircraft was carrying 236 passengers and eight crew members and was taken to an isolated area at the airport. The National Security Guard (NSG) got involved in checking the airplane and found nothing suspicious.

Meanwhile, the airport was cordoned off for nine hours, and the passengers were guided to a lounge inside the airport terminal. A senior government official told ANI,

“An intensive search was carried out by security agencies from 9.50 p.m. till the morning hours. Checking is done through routine scanning of passengers. Non-stop work has been on for nine hours. The baggage was checked and details verified.”

The plane was finally declared safe the next day on January 10th and took off for Goa at 13:17, almost 15 hours after it landed in Jamnagar the previous night.

This is the second time in three months that an India-bound Russian plane has been involved in a bomb threat. In October last year, an Aeroflot Boeing 777 made an emergency landing in Delhi following a bomb threat. Thankfully, all passengers and crew were safe, and the threat turned out to be a hoax.

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