New Delhi. The Indian Air Force on Monday morning sent its fighter jets behind it to intercept a Mahan Air passenger plane going from Iran’s capital Tehran to Guangzhou, China, after a bomb threat. . The Air Force gave this information by issuing a statement.
According to the statement, the incident took place in the morning when flight number W-581 was flying over Indian airspace. Indian fighter jets pursued this flight at a safe distance. The aircraft was given the option of landing first at Jaipur and then at Chandigarh, the statement said. However, the pilot said that he does not want to land the plane at either of the airports.
It said, on October 3, an Iranian-registered aircraft was reported to have a bomb while it was transiting through Indian airspace. The fighter jets of the Indian Air Force were immediately diverted in the direction of the respective flight, following him at a safe distance.
After some time, a message was received from Tehran to ignore the bomb alert, after which the plane continued its journey towards its final destination, according to the statement. All the steps were taken by the Indian Air Force jointly with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) as per the prescribed procedure, the statement said.
It states that the Iranian aircraft was under close radar surveillance of the Air Force during its flight over Indian airspace. It is being told that the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) of Delhi airport was in constant touch with the Air Force when the Iranian aircraft was in Indian airspace.
