New Delhi: An Air India flight to New Delhi on Friday was forced to return to Phuket and make an emergency landing after receiving a bomb threat, according to airport authorities. The flight, AI 379, had 156 passengers on board. Airports of Thailand (AOT) said all passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft after it returned to Phuket following emergency protocols.

The aircraft took off from Phuket airport at 9:30 am local time and instead of proceeding towards India, it made a wide loop over the Andaman Sea and headed back to the Thai island. The route was tracked and confirmed by Flightradar24. An AOT official confirmed that passengers were escorted off the plane without incident.