NEW DELHI — A Lufthansa flight en route from Frankfurt to Hyderabad was forced to turn back mid-air on Sunday following a bomb threat, according to airport authorities in Hyderabad.
“The threat was received while the aircraft was still outside Indian airspace. As a precautionary measure, the flight returned to its point of origin,” a Hyderabad airport official told news agency ANI.
Lufthansa flight LH752 had departed Frankfurt at approximately 2:14 pm local time (5:44 pm IST) on Sunday and was scheduled to arrive at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport early Monday. However, flight tracking data indicated a sharp diversion a few hours into the journey.
A Lufthansa spokesperson initially stated that the flight had turned around because it was denied landing permission at Hyderabad. However, officials later confirmed that a bomb threat was the actual reason for the abrupt return.
“We just landed back in Frankfurt about 15 minutes ago. On board, we were only told that Hyderabad hadn’t given clearance to land,” a passenger told news agency PTI. “The journey had been smooth, but about two hours in, we were informed of the return. We’re now being provided hotel accommodation for the night, and the airline has said we’ll depart again tomorrow morning at 10 am (1:30 pm IST),” said the passenger, who was traveling from the U.S. to visit her mother in Hyderabad.
According to Lufthansa’s live flight tracker, flight LH752 landed safely back at Frankfurt at around 5:30 pm local time (9 pm IST). The aircraft, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, had been on a transcontinental route when the threat was received.
The incident comes at a time when the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is under heightened scrutiny in India following the devastating crash of Air India AI-171 in Ahmedabad last week. That tragedy claimed 274 lives, including 33 on the ground, when the aircraft—also a Dreamliner—crashed shortly after takeoff.
Authorities have not yet disclosed the source or credibility of the bomb threat. Lufthansa has said it is cooperating fully with investigative agencies.
