Delhi-Srinagar Vistara flight onboard 177 passengers, receives bomb threat mid-air

A Vistara flight bound to Srinagar from Delhi received a bomb threat while the flight was already mid-air. The threat led the airport authorities at Srinagar International Airport to take prompt action, as the plan had 177 passengers onboard.

Following a safe landing in Srinagar, all passengers and crew members of the Vistara aircraft UK611 were evacuated.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) responded quickly and expertly to a "threatening call" that Air Traffic Control (ATC) Srinagar received that led to the incident.

According to an airport official, normal operations have resumed after the threat was determined to be non-credible.

Srinagar Airport blocked a runway while security checks took place, causing all other airlines to issue an advisory to their customers.

SpiceJet posted on social media platform X, "Travel update: Due to a runway closure at Srinagar Airport (SXR), all Departures/Arrivals & their consequential flights may get affected. Passengers are requested to check their flight status."

"6ETravelAdvisory: Flights at #SrinagarAirport (SXR) are impacted until 1430 hrs due to runway unavailability for security reasons. To check your flight status, please visit https://bit.ly/3DNYJqj and for immediate assistance, feel free to reach out to our on-ground team," IndiGo also posted.

Earlier the previous week, an IndiGo aircraft from Delhi to Varanasi got a similar bomb threat. After using the emergency exits to remove every passenger, the aircraft was taken to an isolation bay for examination.

A "tissue paper, with the word 'bomb' written on it, was found in the aircraft lavatory" a few days later.