An Iranian passenger flight was bombed on Monday morning while it was in Indian airspace. At that time, the pilot contacted air traffic control and requested permission to land the plane at Delhi airport. However, the authorities did not allow the plane to land and took a different route. But the pilot refused the offer of a different approach and proceeded towards the designated destination. News from NDTV.
The flight was bound for Guangzhou, China from Tehran.
Indian fighter jets followed the plane at a safe distance, the Indian Air Force said in a statement. Flight tracking website Flightradar showed the plane had entered Chinese airspace.
Police said the flight received a call about a bomb threat at 9:20 a.m. local time. Delhi airport was alerted soon after.
“The aircraft was given an alternative route to land first at Jaipur and then at Chandigarh,” Indian Air said. But the pilot has expressed reluctance to go to either of the two airports.’
According to a statement from Iranian authorities, the plane continued to its destination in China after Tehran told it to ignore the bomb scare.
The statement further said, ‘The IAF took all the steps as per the prescribed procedures jointly with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The aircraft was under close surveillance by Air Force radar across Indian airspace.’
News agency PTI reported that Lahore Air Traffic Control had informed Delhi ATC about the alleged bomb threat.
(03 October)