A Vistara Airlines flight made an emergency landing yesterday at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). Airline Headquarters in India received an anonymous phone call of a bomb on board. The flight arrived from Mumbai in India.
Following the emergency landing, investigations were carried out at a designated spot at the end of the runway at the BIA. However, the officer in charge of BIA confirmed that no explosives were found on the plane.
Vistara Airlines flight UK-131 had left Mumbai, India yesterday (October 19) at 12.25 pm to reach the BIA.
Although the flight was scheduled to arrive at BIA at 03.00 pm yesterday, it arrived at 02.51 pm. The Airbus A-320 with 96 passengers and eight crew on board landed safely at the airport. All passengers were swiftly evacuated to the passenger terminal from the aircraft as a precautionary measure and the safety of all passengers was ensured.
Vistara Airline Headquarters, India had received an anonymous phone call saying that there were bombs on the flight arriving in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the BIA bomb disposal units, Air Force and Army commandos, doctors, nursing staff, ambulances, fire vehicles, emergency rescue teams and communication departments were called and arrangements were made to inspect the flight. All passengers and staff who came on the flight were taken out around 4.00 pm yesterday and the checks were completed.
After the authorities were alerted about the threat, in line with Airline protocol, the relevant authorities were informed and an emergency was declared at the BIA.
Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Private) Limited (AASL) and the other authorities followed standard protocol established for such incidents and ensured the safety and security of all passengers and crew.
