Bomb THREAT on Iran-China Mahan Air flight over Indian airspace, IAF scrambles Sukhoi fighter jets

A ‘Bomb threat’ onboard Iranian passenger jet over Indian airspace has been reported by ANI. The passenger plane was moving from Iran to China, as per initial reports.

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A ‘Bomb threat’ onboard Iranian passenger jet belonging to Mahan Air over the Indian airspace has been reported by ANI. The passenger plane was moving from Iran to China, as per initial reports. After the trigger was alerted, IAF has scrambled its Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets and the passenger jet is now moving towards China. The foreign aircraft was headed to China as its final destination, had entered Indian airspace when the alert from Indian Air Traffic Control was shared with the plane. Indian Air Force Su-30MKI fighter jets from Punjab and Jodhpur airbases were scrambled to intercept the plane, sources told ANI.

#WATCH | A lone Sukhoi jet was seen over Jodhpur IAF airbase before LCH induction ceremony began & ahead of the arrival of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Earlier today, Sukhoi jets were scrambled to address an aerial emergency with an Iranian passenger jet. pic.twitter.com/DBzqrorinW

— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2022

The nature of the bomb threat is still unclear, however, the aircraft is now out of the Indian airspace and is being closely monitored by security agencies. According to sources, inputs were received by security agencies in Delhi about the possibility of a bomb on board, which triggered an alert and permission was not granted to the plane to land in Delhi.

A Mahan Air flight, Tehran -> Guangzhou, received a bomb threat when flying over India. According to @ANI "Delhi ATC suggested the aircraft to go to Jaipur but the aircraft pilot refused & left Indian airspace"

Currently about 2h away from Guangzhou https://t.co/mk6FioNbBe pic.twitter.com/D3nUinv1Mu — Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 3, 2022

The Indian ATC granted Mahan Air permission to land in Jaipur. However, the pilot decided to move forward to its final destination to China instead of landing in India.

IAF issues statement

"On 03 October 2022, intimation was received of a bomb scare on an airline bearing Iranian registration, when it was transiting through Indian airspace. IAF fighter aircraft were scrambled, which followed the aircraft at a safe distance. The aircraft was offered the option to land at Jaipur & then, at Chandigarh," said IAF.

"However, the pilot declared his unwillingness to divert to either of the two airports. After a while, intimation was received from Tehran to disregard the bomb scare, following which, the aircraft continued on its journey towards its final destination. All actions were taken by IAF as per the laid down procedure, jointly with Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), IAF added.

With ANI Inputs