New Delhi
There was a stir after receiving the news of a bomb on the Mahan Air flight from Tehran to China. This aircraft remained in the airspace of Delhi for several days and during this time the aircraft of the Indian Air Force kept a close watch on it. After the bomb threat, the Indian Air Force sent its fighter jets behind it to stop the Mahan Air passenger plane from going from Iran’s capital Tehran to Guangzhou, China. 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 planes followed this flight at a safe distance. “The aircraft was given the option of landing first at Jaipur and then at Chandigarh. However, the pilot said that he does not want to land the plane at either of the two 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, which continued to pursue it 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.
The Air Traffic Controller (ATC) of the Delhi airport was in constant touch with the Air Force when the Iranian aircraft was in Indian airspace. According to the report of news agency PTI, Lahore Air Traffic Control had given inputs to the Delhi ATC on the alleged bomb threat.