Bomb threat emails disrupt three flights to Hyderabad in 12 hours; one flight turns back mid-air

Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) reported three separate bomb threat emails in a span of about 12 hours, all targeting international flights bound for the city. While two aircraft landed safely in Hyderabad after standard security procedures were activated, one flight was forced to return to its departure airport.

Airport officials confirmed that the first threat was issued on December 5, 2025, when an email warning of an explosive device was sent to the Hyderabad airport’s customer support ID for Air India flight AI 2879, operating from Delhi to Hyderabad.

The flight landed safely at 8:45 p.m., and airport security teams immediately initiated standard safety checks. No threat was found.

A second threat email was received in the early hours of December 6, 2025, this time targeting British Airways flight BA 277 from Heathrow to Hyderabad. The aircraft landed at 5:25 a.m., after which bomb detection and disposal teams carried out detailed inspections. The threat was later declared a hoax.

Just hours later, RGIA officials received a third bomb threat email aimed at Kuwait Airways flight KU 373 operating from Kuwait to Hyderabad. Unlike the previous two flights, KU 373 did not proceed to Hyderabad and returned to Kuwait as a precaution.

The series of emails has triggered heightened security checks at RGIA, including increased surveillance, enhanced scanning of inbound aircraft, and strengthened coordination with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and local police.

Following a complaint by the airport authorities, the RGIA police booked a case and launched an investigation into the source of the emails. “The anonymously sent emails are routed through a VPN, making them hard to trace. Senders are using other mailing services except Gmail,” said an official from the RGIA police.

The spate of threats comes amid a week of heightened aviation anxiety in Hyderabad. Earlier, on December 5, an Emirates flight from Dubai to Hyderabad received a similar emailed threat but landed safely followed by thorough checks. Two IndiGo flights were also diverted earlier in the week following bomb threat messages.