Air India flight to US makes 'precautionary landing' in London due to hoax bomb threat

A Mumbai-Newark Air India flight made a "precautionary landing" at the Stansted Airport in London following a hoax bomb threat on Thursday morning. However, the plane is now back to the air and the runway at the Stansted Airport was reopened shortly after the emergency landing of the Boeing 777. Flight AI 191, which was on its way to Newark International Airport, an airport in New Jersey serving New York City, took off from the Mumbai International Airport on Thursday morning.

"AI 191 Mumbai-Newark of June 27 has made a precautionary landing at London's Stansted airport due to a bomb threat," the Air India wrote on its official Twitter handle.

Minutes after, the Stansted Airport authority took to Twitter and said, "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".

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#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

Following the bomb threat, the UK Defence Ministry issued a statement, authorising British fighter jets to travel at supersonic speeds to intercept and escort the Air India flight in to land at London Stansted Airport. All flights at the Stansted Aiport were also grounded temporarily to ensure safety and security of the passengers.

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The Air India flight was diverted into London Stansted Airport, to the north east of London, at around 10:15 am local time and had been landed safely with Essex Police in attendance. The flight was parked on an isolated stand away from the normal airport operations. The plane underwent essential investigation by the officials before being back to the air.