Air India Frankfurt-Delhi flight diverted after hijack alert, false alarm suspected

Highlights

• Air India flight AI2030 was diverted to Jaipur on Wednesday (14) morning after a hijack alert.
  
• The Boeing 787-9 was carrying 293 passengers and 13 crew members
• The alert was later reported to be false, with preliminary indications suggesting possible pilot error.
• Security teams inspected the aircraft and passengers’ luggage before passengers reboarded the same plane for Delhi.

AN AIR INDIA flight from Frankfurt to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur on Wednesday (14) after transmitting a hijack alert, with preliminary reports suggesting the emergency signal may have been activated accidentally.

Flight AI2030, operated by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, landed at Jaipur International Airport at around 9.35am and was moved to an isolation bay for security checks. The alert turned out to be false, according to sources.

According to reports, the aircraft was carrying 293 passengers and 13 crew members.

Assistant commissioner of Police for Malviya Nagar, Shiv Dayal, said that airport authorities had informed the police about the emergency landing following a threat.

Police and airport security personnel inspected the aircraft and passengers’ luggage. The passengers were then taken to the terminal building while checks were carried out.

Pilot error suspected

Initial reports indicated that the pilot had transmitted Squawk Code 7500 while the aircraft was in the Mumbai Flight Information Region. The internationally recognised aviation transponder code signals a suspected hijacking or other unlawful interference with an aircraft.

The transmission prompted the diversion to Jaipur as a precaution.

According to comments attributed to Jaipur airport head Charan Singh in Indian media reports, preliminary indications suggested the alert might have been activated by mistake. An investigation was under way to establish what happened.

There was no confirmation of an actual hijacking attempt.

An airport official told the Hindustan Times that it concerned a suspected hijacking rather than a bomb threat.

Security personnel, including local police and bomb detection teams, were involved in the checks. Other reports said the National Security Guard had been placed on standby.

Passengers prepare to resume journey

Jaipur airport authorities said the passengers were safe and there was no panic. After the security checks, passengers began boarding the same aircraft for the onward journey to Delhi.

A passenger, Swasti Rao, wrote on X that everything was fine after the aircraft and passengers underwent further checks. She said they had boarded the diverted flight and hoped it would depart for Delhi soon.

Air India had not issued a detailed official statement at the time of the reports, and the investigation into the alert was continuing.

The incident came a day after flight operations at Nuremberg Airport in Germany were suspended following an erroneous hijack signal from a Corendon Airlines flight travelling from Corfu. The airline later said the signal had been transmitted in error because of a radio system malfunction.