Singapore scrambled fighter jets after bomb threat on Air India Express flight

Singapore deployed two F-15SG fighter jets on Tuesday to escort an Air India Express flight away from populated areas following a bomb threat before the aircraft landed safely at the Changi airport.

The Air India Express plane operating flight IX 684 from Madurai to Singapore had received an alarming email warning of a bomb on board. Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen provided updates on X, saying the plane landed at the Changi Airport around 10 pm, following which the investigation was handed over to the police.

“Our Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) systems and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) were also activated. Once on the ground, the plane was handed to the Airport Police. Investigations are ongoing,” he said.

However, the number of passengers on the flight has not been disclosed, and there has been no immediate statement from Air India Express regarding the incident.

The Air India Express flight from Madurai to Singapore was among the seven Indian flights that received bomb threats on Tuesday.

The Delhi-Chicago Air India flight, the Jaipur-Bengaluru Air India Express, the Dammam-Lucknow IndiGo flight, the Darbhanga-Mumbai SpiceJet flight, the Siliguri-Bengaluru Akasa Air flight, an Alliance Air Amritsar-Dehradun-Delhi flight and an Air India Express flight from Madurai to Singapore were the seven flights that got bomb threats.

An X handle issued threats to four planes — two Air India Express flights, a SpiceJet plane, an Akasa flight, an Air India plane, and an Alliance Air.

The Delhi-Chicago Air India flight was diverted to Canada for checks, while the Air India Express flight underwent security screening at Ayodhya airport. The SpiceJet and Akasa Air flights landed safely, and all precautionary measures were taken.

A similar bomb scare occurred on Monday, targeting three international flights from Mumbai. All the messages on Monday were declared a hoax after security, intelligence agencies, airlines and airport operators carried out anti-terrorist security drills.