Singapore scrambles fighters as bomb threat targets Air India jet

Indian airlines have suffered a spate of bomb hoaxes in recent days.

Singapore scrambled fighter planes as an approaching Air India Express passenger plane received a bomb threat.

The city-state’s air force dispatched two F-15SG military aircraft to escort Air India flight AXB684 away from populated areas, Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post late on Tuesday. The Indian airline had received an email claiming a bomb was on board its plane.

The Air India aircraft landed safely at Changi Airport at 10:04pm (1404 GMT), Ng said. Singapore’s ground-based air defence systems and explosive disposal team were activated during the incident.

Once it had safely landed, the plane was handed to the airport police, who reported that security checks revealed no threatening items on board.

Indian airlines have faced “a number of threats in recent days,” via email or social media, all of which have been found to be hoaxes, Air India said in a statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Indian flag carrier was forced to divert a flight headed to Chicago to land in Canada. The previous day, a flight from Mumbai to New York was diverted to Delhi due to a bomb hoax.

India’s budget airlines have also been affected. IndiGo was forced to delay flights to Oman and Saudi Arabia while SpiceJet received a bomb threat to a flight to Mumbai from the northern city of Darbhanga.