IAF Fighter Jets Deployed Following 'Bomb Scare' Aboard An Iranian Flight In Indian Airspace

New Delhi: Indian Air Force fighter jets had to be 'scrambled' on Monday morning after the report of a bomb scare on board an Iranian passenger flight.

According to IAF, inputs were received by security agencies in Delhi about the possibility of a bomb on board a civilian Mahan Air flight belonging to Iran, which triggered an alert.

The extraordinary incident happened in the morning, at a time when flight W581 was flying over Indian airspace.

The fight belonging to Mahan Air was on its way from Tehran in Iran to Guangzhou in China when the incident occurred over Indian airspace, forcing the IAF to take action according to established protocol in the event of such emergencies.

The IAF issued a statement saying that it deployed fighter aircrafts upon receiving the information.

The flight offered two options to land in India which it refused and continued its journey, the Air Force said.

"The aircraft was offered the option to land at Jaipur & then, at Chandigarh. However, the pilot declared his unwillingness to divert to either of the two airports," the IAF said.

The Air Force said that the fighter jets followed the aircraft at a safe distance.

It may be mentioned that a bomb threat was received through call at around 9:20 am on Monday and with this, the Delhi airport was put on alert.

However, Tehran asked it to disregard the bomb scare and the flight continued to fly towards China.

"All actions were taken by IAF as per the laid down procedure, jointly with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). The aircraft was under close radar surveillance by the Air Force throughout the Indian airspace", the IAF statement said.

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