An Air India flight bound for New Delhi was forced to make an emergency landing on Friday after receiving a bomb threat, according to Thai airport authorities. The incident occurred just a day after a deadly crash involving another Air India aircraft in Ahmedabad claimed more than 240 lives.
Flight AI 379, which departed from Phuket at 9:30 a.m. local time (0230 GMT), turned back over the Andaman Sea and returned to the airport shortly after takeoff. Emergency procedures were immediately initiated upon landing, and all 156 passengers were safely evacuated without injury, officials from Airports of Thailand (AOT) confirmed.
🚨 HUGE! Air India flight AI379, en route from Phuket, Thailand to Delhi, made an EMERGENCY landing after a BOMB THREAT was reported onboard.
— The aircraft landed SAFELY, all passengers and crew are SAFE, and NO injuries have been reported. pic.twitter.com/5rlqRIqxMb
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) June 13, 2025
Authorities have not provided further details regarding the nature or source of the bomb threat, and Air India has yet to release an official statement.
This latest incident adds to growing concerns about aviation safety, especially involving Indian carriers. In 2023 alone, nearly 1,000 bomb threats—many of them hoaxes—were reported against Indian airlines, highlighting a troubling trend.
The bomb scare came just one day after a catastrophic crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad. The aircraft, carrying 242 people, crashed into a residential neighborhood, killing at least 265 people, including residents on the ground.
Eyewitnesses described the horrific aftermath. An AFP journalist on-site reported seeing the aircraft’s tail section dangling from a building, its wreckage scattered, and black smoke rising from a nearby structure engulfed in flames.
“One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a local physician. “The front part struck the canteen, where students were having lunch.”
Rescue operations continued through the night, with emergency teams using sniffer dogs to search the debris for victims. The Indian government has launched a formal investigation into the cause of the crash as the nation mourns the lives lost in what has become one of its deadliest aviation disasters.
