Kathmandu, October 28: Nepal’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) received a bomb hoax call on an Air India flight (AI 216) set to return to New Delhi. This is the second bomb hoax call targeting an Indian airline at TIA within the span of a week, authorities confirmed.
The Air India flight landed at TIA at 2:41 PM (Nepal Standard Time) when the bomb threat was reported, leading authorities to initiate emergency protocols. The Nepal Army’s bomb squad and the Nepal Police Canine division conducted an extensive search in a designated isolated area of the airport. After more than four hours, officials confirmed no suspicious objects were found onboard.
"We didn't find any explosives on the plane, and it's now preparing for departure as per standard procedures," stated Kiran Bajracharya, Assistant Inspector General at Valley Police Office, Ranipokhari.
The bomb scare also affected a nearby Himalayan Airlines flight, which was moved as a precaution. This recent surge of hoax calls has raised concerns, with a similar incident involving a Vistara Airways flight from Delhi last week. Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal’s Information Officer, Gyanendra Bhul, confirmed that repeated hoax threats have heightened passenger anxiety on Indian flights.
