Air India flight from Birmingham diverted after ‘bomb menace’ on board
An Air India flight that departed from Birmingham has reportedly been diverted after a bomb threat on board. The aircraft was travelling flying to Delhi after leaving Birmingham Airport on Saturday, June 21.
The aircraft landed safely at Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia after the threat was discovered. Security agencies conducted a full sweep of the plane and disembarked all passengers.
Fortunately no explosive material was found during the inspection, with all passengers on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner provided with hotel accommodation. A spokesperson for the airline said: “Flight AI114 from Birmingham to Delhi on June 21 received a bomb threat and was consequently diverted to Riyadh, where where it landed safely and completed security checks.”
It comes after the Air India plane tragedy earlier this month where a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off in Ahmedabad, India.
(Image: AFPTV/ESN/AFP via Getty Images)
The Boeing Dreamliner was en route to London when it tragically burst into flames upon impact shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, India last Thursday, claiming the lives of all 270 people involved, including 241 passengers.
Authorities have initiated a probe into the disaster, exploring the hypothesis that the aircraft might have been operating on an emergency power generator. Speculation abounds that a simultaneous failure of both engines occurred, though the exact cause remains undetermined.
Among the victims were 53 British nationals, with their families enduring “pain and frustration” due to hold-ups in identifying and repatriating their loved ones.
(Image: CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY FORC)
The Nanabawa family, including Akeel, his wife Hannaa Vorajee, and their four year old daughter Sara, perished in the accident, leaving relatives feeling “utterly abandoned” by the UK Government and pleading for increased assistance in India.
In response to the tragedy, Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer addressed Parliament, stating that the FCDO had established a reception centre at a hotel near the airport to assist British nationals, as opposed to the hospital where, regrettably, no survivors were found.
He further stated: “But we keep these questions under review, as I know from my own experience in tragedies like this, it is difficult to get the assistance that British nationals need right first time, and we will learn lessons as each step goes through.”
