Bomb threat jolts passengers on A-I flight to Singapore

Bomb threat jolts passengers on A-I flight to Singapore
AGENCIES

SINGAPORE/MUMBAI, MARCH 1: An Air-India plane flying from Mumbai was diverted to a military base within Singapore's Changi airport after a bomb threat, the husband of one of the passengers said on Friday. Passengers were kept aboard A-I 478 from Mumbai for at least an hour near the military hangars, before being taken off the plane, Tanuj Philip, who spoke to his wife Anita by mobile phone, told Reuters.

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A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said there was ``some security issue'' aboard the flight but declined to confirm it was a bomb threat.

A-I spokesperson said there was no threat whatsoever and neither the airline office at Singapore nor the flight commander had communicated to the authorities there to this effect. The spokesman added prior to its departure from Mumbai, a call had been received at the Sahar terminal of CST airport stating ``dhyan se suno, A-I 478 hum hijack karnewale hai'' (listen carefully, A-I 478 is about to be hijacked).

Security agencies were alerted and a thorough check was carried out and the call turned out to be a hoax, he said, adding the flight departed Mumbai 80 minutes behind schedule.

The spokesman said, as is the normal practice, a message was sent by A-I security to all airports through which the aircraft was to transit through. It appears that the security agencies at Singapore either misread the message or there was miscommunication at some level making the authorities subject the aircraft to security checks, he said.

The aircraft after a delay of over three hours left for Jakarta.