Efficiency and speed: How Air Force helped tackle bomb scare in Russia plane

New Delhi, Jan 11: Earlier this week a bomb scare was reported on a Russian airline operating on the Moscow-Goa route, forcing the aircraft to land mid-route at an airport in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

A thorough check of the aircraft carrying 244 passengers was carried out for 10 hours. The Indian Air Force tweeted a video of a Azur Air flight 2041 departing for Goa after it was cleared. It captioned the video, 'all is well that ends well.'

The Indian Air Force as part of the protocol coordinated with the ground staff and special forces, including the explosive experts from the National Security Guard who were flown in by the IAF to carry out the requisite checks.

The efficiency and speed of the IAF could be seen from the fact that all of this was carried out in only 50 minutes response time.

"Upon landing, Indian Air Force security personnel had isolated the aircraft in its isolation bay and evacuated 236 passengers to safety," the IAF said in another tweet.

"Immediate hospitality was extended by the authorities at Air Force Station Jamnagar to make the passengers comfortable," another tweet read.

"NSG bomb disposal teams flown in by IAF aircraft scanned the aircraft and personal baggage before clearing the flight for departure to its final destination - Dabolim Airport, Goa," the IAF said in a tweet on January 10.

Following this the IAF shared a video shot in the night in which the plane was being checked following which it took off.

Senior Air Force officials including Air Commodore Anand Sodhi kept a close watch on the developments at the Jamnagar airport, news agency ANI reported. Since there was very little time to react, the operation was hand over to the IAF. Normally emergencies such as this are routed to airports that are handled by the Civil Aviation Ministry.