Air India Flight Diverted to Jaipur Resumes Delhi Journey
An Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur on Wednesday following a hijack alert that later proved false, and resumed its journey after security checks, according to officials and sources.
Flight AI2030, operated by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft carrying around 293 passengers and 13 crew members, landed at Jaipur International Airport at about 9:35 a.m. The aircraft was moved to an isolation bay within ten minutes for security inspections, airport sources said.
“The passengers were brought to the terminal building. After some time, clearance was given to the flight, following which boarding of the passengers began to the same plane. The flight then departed for Delhi,” an airport source said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Malviya Nagar, Shiv Dayal, told PTI that airport authorities had informed police about the emergency landing following the threat alert. Security personnel checked the aircraft in the isolation bay, the sources said.
According to the sources, the pilot transmitted Code 7500 to air traffic control, indicating unlawful interference. The sources stated that Code 7500 was activated due to a technical glitch and there was no actual hijack threat. The aircraft was in the Mumbai Flight Information Region (FIR) when the code was transmitted, leading to the diversion to Jaipur.
Security agencies conducted checks and cleared the aircraft and crew. All passengers were disembarked, underwent security checks, and subsequently reboarded the aircraft, Air India said in a statement.
After the checks, the flight resumed operations and landed at Delhi airport at approximately 3:10 p.m., operated by the same crew, a source said.
However, another source claimed the pilot did not press the Squawk Code 7500 and informed air traffic control in Ahmedabad, which is under the Mumbai FIR. Despite this, security protocols required diverting the aircraft to Jaipur to prevent any potential threat, the source added.
A senior official confirmed that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will investigate the incident. The conflicting accounts highlight the complexities of responding to suspected security breaches in aviation, where precautionary measures are standard procedure even when the threat is later deemed unfounded.
The incident highlighted the strict protocols followed by aviation authorities to ensure passenger and crew safety, even when initial alerts turn out to be erroneous.
