Air India Frankfurt–Delhi flight diverted to Jaipur after suspected hijack alert

• All 293 passengers and 13 crew members were reported safe after the aircraft landed in Jaipur.
• A brief hijack signal triggered security checks, with preliminary reports suggesting accidental activation.
• Passengers later reboarded the aircraft as authorities investigated what caused the alert.

An Air India flight from Frankfurt to New Delhi was diverted to Jaipur on Wednesday, October 14, after a suspected hijack signal prompted an emergency security response. Preliminary assessments suggested the alert may have been activated accidentally, and there was no confirmation of a hijacking attempt.

Flight AI2030, operated by a Boeing 787-9, landed safely at Jaipur International Airport at approximately 9:35am local time, according to Indian media reports. Other reports placed the landing at 9:45am.

The aircraft, carrying a reported 293 passengers and 13 crew members, was taken to an isolation bay for inspection. Airport authorities said everyone on board was safe, and passengers were moved to a designated holding area inside the terminal while security checks were conducted.

The diversion followed a brief emergency signal reportedly received by Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control at around 9am local time. Preliminary accounts said the aircraft transmitted Squawk 7500 while flying within the Mumbai Flight Information Region.

The internationally recognised transponder code alerts air traffic controllers to suspected hijacking or unlawful interference with an aircraft. Reports said the signal lasted only a few seconds but prompted a precautionary request to land at the nearest airport.

Early accounts described the incident as an alleged bomb threat. However, an airport official quoted by the Hindustan Times said the security response concerned a suspected hijack alert and that an investigation was underway.

Assistant Commissioner of Police for Malviya Nagar, Shiv Dayal, said airport authorities notified police about the emergency landing. Police and airport security personnel subsequently searched the aircraft and checked passengers’ luggage, with Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad teams taking part.

CNN-News18 reported that both pilots were taken off the aircraft under security protocols. India’s National Security Guard, the federal counter-terrorism and special operations force, was reportedly placed on standby in Delhi.

Initial inspections found no operational abnormality. Reports citing Directorate General of Civil Aviation sources said authorities had cleared the aircraft, although inquiries into the cockpit alert continued.

Jaipur airport head Charan Singh was quoted as saying that early indications pointed to the signal being activated by mistake.

Airport authorities reported no panic among passengers. Following additional checks of the aircraft and those on board, passengers began reboarding the same plane for the onward journey to Delhi.

Passenger Swasti Rao wrote on X that the required checks had been completed and that passengers were back on the diverted aircraft, awaiting departure for Delhi.

Air India had not released a detailed official statement at the time of the reports. Investigators were examining whether the alert resulted from an accidental action or a technical or operational issue.

The incident came a day after an erroneous hijack signal disrupted operations at Nuremberg Airport in Germany. The alert involved a Corendon Airlines flight travelling from Corfu.

German Eurofighter jets were reportedly scrambled to escort that aircraft after air traffic control lost radio contact with its cockpit between 8:15am and 8:28am UTC. Corendon Airlines later attributed the incorrect hijack signal to a radio system malfunction and said passengers had never been in danger.

The Jaipur diversion also followed reports last month of an alleged hijacking incident involving Flydubai Flight FZ1073, bound for Israel, which reportedly occurred around two and a half hours into its journey.