An Air India flight en route from Birmingham to New Delhi was diverted to Riyadh on Sunday, 21 June, following a bomb threat, adding further pressure on the airline amid a series of safety-related incidents.
Flight AI114 landed safely in the Saudi capital, where it underwent full security screening. Air India confirmed that all passengers were unharmed, and alternative travel arrangements are being made. The airline expressed regret for the disruption caused by what appeared to be a hoax.
This latest scare comes at a turbulent time for the carrier. Just days earlier, Air India suffered one of the deadliest aviation disasters in recent Indian history. A Boeing Dreamliner crashed shortly after takeoff in Ahmedabad on 12 June, killing 270 people — all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board. The tragedy has triggered multiple international investigations and intensified regulatory scrutiny.
India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has since ordered enhanced inspections across Air India’s Boeing 787 and 777 fleets, prompting a 15% cut in international wide-body operations and widespread flight cancellations.
In parallel, bomb hoaxes have sharply increased across India’s aviation sector, with nearly 1,000 threats reported between January and November 2024 — a tenfold rise over the previous year. A single week in October saw over 500 threats, disrupting dozens of flights. Recent incidents include an IndiGo flight from Kochi to Delhi diverted to Nagpur on 18 June, and an Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi that turned back mid-flight on 13 June after a suspicious note was discovered in the lavatory.
Adding to the airline’s woes, Air India confirmed a suspected food poisoning case aboard a Boeing 777 flight from London to Mumbai on Monday. Five passengers and two crew members fell ill during the nine-hour flight and received medical care upon arrival.
The airline stated that affected individuals were treated immediately and later released. The incident has been reported to aviation regulators and is under investigation.
Meanwhile, the black box from the Ahmedabad crash — damaged but retrievable — is being sent to the United States for forensic analysis. Investigators from the UK, US, Boeing, and General Electric are actively involved in the crash probe. According to Air India, the aircraft involved had one engine replaced in March 2025, while the other had undergone servicing in 2023.
With mounting scrutiny, operational disruptions, and shaken passenger confidence, Air India now faces a critical test in restoring safety assurances and stabilising international operations.
