An Air India passenger plane flying to the United States was escorted by British fighter jets to land in London on Thursday, June 27, after what an official at the airline later said was a hoax bomb threat.
An Air India official said flight AI 191 from Mumbai to Newark had made a precautionary landing at London Stansted Airport after a hoax telephone call was made to Mumbai airport.
The official told Reuters there was no security threat.
Air India flight #AI191 just diverted to Stansted due to a bomb threathttps://t.co/XzwA9pssoa pic.twitter.com/udBo2K8ADY
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 27, 2019
Britain scrambled Typhoon fighters at supersonic speed to intercept the Boeing 777-337 and safely escorted it to Stansted, which briefly closed its runway.
The Air India plane was directed to an isolated stand with police in attendance.
London’s Stansted Airport says an Air India Boeing 777 flying from Mumbai to New York has landed safely after being diverted. https://t.co/CBpsJpfSIb
— WCBS Newsradio 880 (@wcbs880) June 27, 2019
“An Air India Boeing 777 diverted into London Stansted Airport at approximately 1015 and landed safely with Essex Police in attendance. It is parked on an isolated stand away from the normal airport operations,” the airport said.
“Our runway has now re-opened and is fully operational following a precautionary landing of Air India flight,” it said.
#UPDATE Our runway has now re-opened and is fully operational following a precautionary landing of Air India flight.
We are sorry for any disruption caused by the incident and would like to thank you for your patience.— London Stansted Airport (@STN_Airport) June 27, 2019
British police said officers were making inquiries.
According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the aircraft affected was a Boeing 777-337.
The CNN Wire contributed to this report.