Singapore scrambles fighter jets after bomb threat on Air India Express flight
Air India Express flight AXB684 landed safely at Changi Airport.
Two Republic of Singapore Air Force F-15SG jets were scrambled after a bomb threat on an Air India Express flight. (File photo: Facebook/Ng Eng Hen)
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SINGAPORE: The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) scrambled F-15SG jets on Tuesday night (Oct 15) after a bomb threat on an Air India Express flight.
The airline had received an email that there was a bomb on board flight AXB684 that was bound for Singapore, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post.
Two F-15SG jets escorted the plane away from populated areas and it touched down at Changi Airport at around 10.04pm, more than an hour after it was due to land.
"Our Ground Based Air Defence systems and Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were also activated. Once on the ground, the plane was handed to the Airport Police," Dr Ng said, adding that investigations are ongoing.
"Many thanks to the dedication and professionalism of our Singapore Armed Forces and Home Team that keep us safe in our homes, even when threats exist around us."
Air India Express is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India and a part of the Tata group.
Flight AXB684 took off from Madurai at about 1.54pm and was due to land in Singapore at about 8.50pm, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
It was one of several flights taking off from India that were disrupted on Monday and Tuesday due to bomb threats, media outlets in India reported.
An Air India Express flight from Ayodhya to Bengaluru also received a hoax bomb threat on Tuesday, according to NDTV.
One Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago was forced to make an emergency landing at Iqaluit Airport in Canada after a "security threat" was posted online, the airline said.
The aircraft and passengers were "rescreened as per the laid down security protocol".
“Air India notes that it, and other local airlines, have been subject to a number of threats in recent days," it added.
Similar hoaxes were received by India's low-cost airline IndiGo for two flights from Mumbai on Monday – one to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and another to Muscat in Oman, according to media outlets in India.
NDTV reported that a SpiceJet flight SG116 from Darbhanga to Mumbai and an Akasa Air flight QP1373 from Bagdogra to Bengaluru also received bomb threats on Tuesday.
