India, March 10 -- An Air India New York (JFK) bound flight from Mumbai had to return to Mumbai on Monday, eight hours after taking off, due to a bomb threat that was later declared to be a hoax.

The Boeing 777 aircraft with at least 320 people on board was flying over Azerbaijan when the flight had to head back to Mumbai.

"A potential security threat was detected mid-flight on AI119 operating Mumbai-New York (JFK) today, 10 March 2025. After following the necessary protocols, the flight air-returned to Mumbai, in the interest of the safety and security of all on board. The flight landed safely back in Mumbai at 1025 Hrs (local time)," an Air India spokesperson said on Monday.

As a standard operating procedure (SOP), the aircraft under...