Mumbai-Singapore flight receives bomb threat mid-air; woman and child detained

A Singapore Airlines onboard flight SQ423 from Mumbai to Singapore landed at Changi International Airport at 7.54 am (local time) in Singapore on Tuesday, March 26, after the pilot raised a bomb threat alert. However, it turned out to be a hoax.

The plane carrying 263 passengers landed safely at the airport. The flight had taken off at around 11:35 pm (local time) on Monday from Mumbai. Shortly after it took off, the airline received a call claiming that there was a bomb on the plane, The Straits Times reported. No suspicious items were found in the aircraft.

The flight was safely escorted back to Changi Airport by Singapore's air force and had to make an emergency landing. "Singapore Airlines confirms there was a bomb threat concerning SQ423 operating from Mumbai to Singapore. The aircraft arrived in Singapore on 26 March 2019 at about 0800hrs (local time). There were 263 passengers on board. We are assisting the authorities with their investigations and regret that we are unable to provide further details," said a spokesperson for the airline.

All the passengers were disembarked safely and had to undergo a security check before they could leave. Meanwhile, authorities have detained a woman and a child who are being questioned by the police. Back in April 2018, a similar incident involving a Singapore carrier happened on a Hat Yai-bound Scoot flight.