Hyderabad, India: A Gulf Air flight operating from Bahrain to Hyderabad was diverted to Mumbai early Sunday after airport authorities in Hyderabad received an email claiming a bomb had been placed on the aircraft. The threat was later confirmed to be a hoax after detailed security checks.
Flight GF 274, carrying 154 passengers, departed Bahrain at 22:20 hrs on Saturday and was scheduled to arrive at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 04:55 a.m. On Sunday. At around 3 a.m., an email warning of an explosive device onboard was sent to the Hyderabad airport’s customer support address, prompting authorities to initiate emergency protocols.
Following standard procedure, the aircraft was instructed to divert to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, where it landed safely. Security teams conducted multiple layers of inspection and found no suspicious objects.
After receiving clearance from security agencies, the flight departed Mumbai and landed in Hyderabad at 11:31 a.m. Gulf Air stated that the diversion was carried out “in accordance with safety and security requirements” and confirmed that all passengers were safe.
Hyderabad Airport officials filed a complaint with local police, who have registered a case and begun tracing the origin of the threat email. Authorities noted that the message appeared similar to earlier hoax threats received in recent weeks.
The incident follows a series of false alarms involving flights bound for Hyderabad. Earlier this month, an IndiGo flight from Jeddah to Hyderabad was diverted to Mumbai after an email referencing a past airport blast claimed a bomb was onboard. That threat also proved to be false, but it prompted full emergency procedures and inspections.
The repeated hoax threats have triggered heightened alert levels at Hyderabad Airport and renewed discussions within India’s aviation sector regarding cyber-threat response, email-verification systems, and rapid-response coordination for inbound international flights.
