Vistara flight bomb scare in SL Airport : Update from BIA

October 24, 2024 at 5:12 PM

The Management of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake today declared a full emergency in response to another reported bomb scare on a Vistara flight from Mumbai to Colombo.

Issuing a statement, the BIA Management said that the flight was scheduled to arrive at 15:15 hrs today (Oct 24) and a nonspecific call on a bomb threat had been reported to the flight before landing.

Accordingly, the security agencies and relevant authorities adopted all precautionary and preventive measures in line with the protocol. 

The flight with 107 passengers, one infant, and 8 crew onboard landed safely at the airport at 14:55 hrs. All passengers were swiftly evacuated from the aircraft to the passenger terminal building, and the safety of all passengers was assured.

The BIA management noted that the Airport & Aviation Services Sri Lanka Private Ltd, together with all other authorities responsible for security, followed the standard protocols established for such incidents and ensured the safety and security of all passengers and crew.

“We hereby inform our valued passengers and airport users that flight operations at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) continue as usual without any disruption to the airport’s normal operations. We sincerely regret any inconvenience this situation may have caused to our valued guests and airport users and appreciate their understanding,” it added.

Meanwhile, Indian media reported that over 85 flights have received fresh threats within a span of 24 hours. 

According to the latest tally, these threats targeted 20 flights from Air India, 20 from Indogo, 20 from Vistara and another 25 from Akasa Airlines.

In little over a week, more than 170 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats. (Newswire)