An Air India passenger plane flying to the United States was escorted by British fighter jets to land in London on Thursday after a bomb threat.
( Officials have now confirmed that the bomb threat was a hoax )
Air India said flight AI 191 from Mumbai to Newark had made a precautionary landing at London Stansted Airport “due to bomb threat.”
Britain scrambled Typhoon fighters at supersonic speed to intercept the Boeing 777-337 and safely escorted it to Stansted which briefly closed its runway.
The Air India plane was directed to an isolated stand with police in attendance.
“An Air India Boeing 777 diverted into London Stansted Airport at approximately 1015 and landed safely with Essex Police in attendance. It is parked on an isolated stand away from the normal airport operations,” the airport said.
“Our runway has now re-opened and is fully operational following a precautionary landing of Air India flight,” it said.
British police said officers were making enquiries.
An Air India spokesperson was not immediately reachable.
(This is a developing story)
