Air India Boeing 787 Birmingham-New Delhi Suffers Hoax Bomb Threat in Riyadh

It has emerged that an Air India Boeing 787 bound for New Delhi from Birmingham as AI114 had to divert to Riyadh due to a hoax bomb threat.

Information has been released pertinent to the incident at hand, which was handled safely.

This comes following a tumultuous few weeks for Air India off the back of the crash involving flight AI171.

Air India Flight AI114 Birmingham-New Delhi…

Air India flight AI114, which diverted to Riyadh due to a hoax bomb threat, is a routine scheduled flight between Birmingham and New Delhi.

Furthermore, the aircraft involved in the incident was VT-ANP.

As per data from Planespotters.net, VT-ANP is a 11.2 year old Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that was delivered to the airline back in June 2014.

Of the 787-8 variant, Air India has 26 of them in their fleet.

Moreover, of the 26, 22 are in active service, with four currently parked, offering an average fleet age of 10.9 years.

Air India Fleet…

Air India flight AI114, which diverted to Riyadh with a hoax bomb threat, departed Birmingham at 2012 local time on June 21, bound for New Delhi.

Everything was normal for most of the flight in Europe, before entering Saudi Arabia airspace.

All of a sudden, the aircraft started descending, and headed towards Riyadh.

After six hours and 30 minutes in the air, the aircraft landed safely without further incident.

Air India Bomb Threat Forced Diversion to Riyadh, Was a Hoax…

As per NDTV, it has been reported that the bomb threat onboard Air India flight AI114 Birmingham-New Delhi was a hoax, following a full sweep made at Riyadh Airport.

In a statement to the Indian outlet, the airline said the following in a statement:

“The aircraft has landed safely, all passengers have been deplaned, and security checks have been completed”.

This incident adds to the overall tally of Indian flights being targeted with bomb threat hoaxes.

Air India Destination List…

Back in October 2024, there were bomb threat hoaxes on over 70 Indian flights.

Major Indian carriers including Air India, IndiGo, Vistara and Akasa Air have been targeted consistently.

The recent spate of bomb threats which have caused havoc for Indian airlines on both domestic and international flights.

This resulted in the Indian government having to warn social media platforms over this.

Two more incidents before the Riyadh diversion of Air India flight AI114 Birmingham-New Delhi have happened this year as well.

American Airlines flight AA292 bound for New Delhi from New York suffered a bomb threat back in February.

And in March, an Air India Boeing 777, originally bound for New York, had to turn back to Mumbai because of this too.

Tumultuous Time For The Airline Currently: Boeing 787 Crash & More!

It has been a tumultuous week or so for Air India with the hoax bomb threat in Riyadh onboard AI114 Birmingham-New Delhi adding to that.

We had the crash of AI171, which was the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787.

It becomes the first fatal crash of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner since its commercial debut in 2011.

With only one survivor, British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the tragedy has cast a shadow over the 787’s previously unblemished safety record and intensified scrutiny on Boeing, already grappling with a series of safety and production challenges.

The catastrophic accident has resulted in the deaths of at least 269 people—241 of the 242 onboard and at least 28 on the ground.

The Problems Keep Coming…

On top of this, Air India has come under fire for another reason as well.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has instructed the airline to remove three officials from the airline.

This comes following lapses linked to two flights from Bengaluru to London, where pilots had exceeded the mandated 10-hour work period.

It is understood the airline has complied with these actions also.

In a statement to Reuters, the airline said:

“Air India is committed to ensuring that there is total adherence to safety protocols and standard practices”.

Air India have also been warned for flying three Airbus aircraft that were overdue for mandatory checks.

These checks were on the emergency equipment, including slides.

That, mixed with the axing of 15% of their international flight schedules, highlights the airline’s situation exactly.

Overall…

So at this stage, it is safe to say that Air India is going through turbulence.

Looking ahead, the airline will look to restore their operational reliability.

This will have to be done piece-by-piece to ensure safety and success.

For now, CEO Campbell Wilson has a big job to do, that’s for sure.