A bomb threat on an Air India Express flight led to the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) scrambling F-15SG jets on Tuesday, October 15 night, Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said.
The lawmaker said that the Indian airline — a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India and a part of the Tata Group — had received a threat email that there was a bomb on board Singapore-bound flight AXB684. Investigations are ongoing.
“Two of our RSAF’s F-15SGs scrambled and escorted the plane away from populated areas, to finally land safely at Singapore Changi Airport at around 10:04pm tonight,” the minister’s Facebook post read.
“Our Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) systems and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team were also activated. Once on the ground, the plane was handed to the Airport Police. Investigations are ongoing.
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“Many thanks to the dedication and professionalism of our SAF and Home Team that keep us safe in our homes, even when threats exist around us,” the Defence Minister added.
Citing Singapore Police Force (SPF), CNA reported that it was alerted to the bomb threat at about 8.25 pm (local time).
“The plane landed safely at Changi Airport at about 10.04pm, under the escort of RSAF fighter aircraft,” SPF said. “The police completed security checks thereafter. No threat items were found. The police take security threats seriously and will not hesitate to take action against those who intentionally cause public alarm.”
The flight took off from the southern Indian city of Madurai at about 1.54 pm and was due to land in Singapore at about 8.50 pm, data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed.
Several flights taking off from India on Monday and Tuesday have faced disruptions due to bomb threats, as per reports.
India’s aviation body starts probe
India’s Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has initiated an investigation after 10 flights were grounded in less than 48 hours due to hoax bomb threats, media reports said.
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According to officials, the threats were issued from an unverified handle on X, formerly Twitter.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has called a high-level meeting for Wednesday following the series of bomb threats received by the Indian carriers.
