An Air India flight travelling from Phuket to New Delhi made an emergency landing in Thailand on Friday after a bomb threat note was discovered onboard. All 156 passengers aboard flight AI 379 were safely evacuated after the plane returned to Phuket International Airport, having circled over the Andaman Sea.
Authorities confirmed that a bomb threat was received mid-air and that a note was later found on the aircraft. No explosives were detected during a preliminary search, but the passenger who discovered the note is currently being questioned. Air India has yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
This scare comes just a day after Air India flight AI171 crashed in Ahmedabad, killing at least 290 people, including local residents and medical students on the ground.
Last year, a wave of bomb threats targeted Indian airlines—more than 19 hoax threats were issued within a span of just three days. Air India and several private carriers were impacted, prompting emergency landings, flight diversions, and airport shutdowns across India and five other countries. Most threats circulated on social media platforms like X, escalating tensions during a period of diplomatic strain between India and Canada over the presence of Khalistani extremists abroad.
The threats have revived painful memories of the June 23, 1985 Air India bombing, when flight 182, travelling from Canada to India via London, exploded off the Irish coast, killing all 329 on board—making it Canada’s deadliest terror attack and the worst aviation disaster before 9/11. On the same day, a second bomb intended for another Air India flight exploded prematurely in Tokyo, killing two baggage handlers. Both attacks were linked to Khalistani terrorists.
While Khalistan terrorism was brought to an end by India within its territory almost thirty years ago, some groups of Khalistani separatists and their supporters have remained active in some western countries allegedly with support from Pakistan’s ISI.
Families of the 1985 victims have long accused Canadian authorities of mishandling investigations. A 2010 Canadian inquiry confirmed a series of intelligence and investigative failures that allowed the bombings to occur.
In late 2023, leader of SFJ, a group bannned by India, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, released a video warning people to avoid flying on Air India.
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