Jaipur, Oct 14 An Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur on Wednesday following a hijack alert that later turned out to be false, and resumed its journey after security checks, according to officials and sources.
A senior official said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will be investigating the incident.
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 am and was moved to an isolation bay for security inspections, the 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,” the airport sources said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Malviya Nagar, Shiv Dayal told PTI that airport authorities had informed police about the emergency landing of the flight, following the threat alert.
Police sources said security personnel checked the aircraft in the isolation bay.
“The flight landed at around 9.35 am. The aircraft was taken to the isolation bay within ten minutes for checking,” the sources said.
Security sources said that the AI plane landed at Jaipur after the Pilot-in-Command transmitted Code 7500 to the concerned ATC, indicating unlawful interference.
“It was informed that Code 7500 was activated due to a technical glitch and there was no actual hijack threat,” the sources said.
When the ‘Squawk Code 7500’ was transmitted, the aircraft was in the Mumbai Flight Information Region (FIR). Subsequently, the plane was diverted to Jaipur, the sources added.
Jaipur airport management said security checks were conducted and later passengers were de-boarded and taken to the terminal building.
“The relevant security agencies carried out the necessary checks and have cleared the aircraft and crew. All passengers were disembarked, underwent security checks, and have since reboarded the aircraft,” Air India said in a statement.
After the checks, the aircraft was cleared for operations and the flight, operated by the same crew, landed at the Delhi airport at around 3.10 pm, one of the sources said.
Meanwhile, another source claimed that the pilot did not press the ‘Squawk Code 7500’ and the same was also informed to the air traffic control in Ahmedabad that comes under the Mumbai Flight Information Region (FIR).
However, as a security protocol to prevent any possible security threat, the aircraft was diverted to Jaipur, the source added.
(PTI News)
