A Big Apple-bound plane was forced to turn around five hours into its flight early Monday when a bomb threat was discovered in the bathroom.
The 322 passengers on Air India flight AI119 were heading from Mumbai to JFK Airport when they made a U-turn over a “potential security threat” — landing back in Mumbai more than eight hours after taking off, an airline rep told Asian News International.
The flight took off from Mumbai at 2 a.m. Monday local time and was forced to turn around while flying over Azerbaijan, according to officials.
“The flight landed safely back in Mumbai at 10:25 a.m. (local time)” and underwent “mandatory checks by security agencies,” the airline said.
The bomb threat was later revealed to be a hoax, The Week reported.
Flights from Mumbai to JFK normally take around 15 hours, less than twice Monday’s flight took to make its flight back to its starting point.
All of the affected passengers have been provided with accommodation, meals and other support, Air India said in a statement.