A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Hyderabad was forced to return to its origin on Sunday following a bomb threat, the airline said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, Lufthansa flight LH752 from Frankfurt to Hyderabad returned to its point of departure after authorities were made aware of a bomb threat posted on social media,” a Lufthansa spokesperson said.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is Lufthansa’s highest priority. Affected passengers were provided with accommodation in Frankfurt and will be continuing their journey to Hyderabad today.”
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner took off from Frankfurt around 14:29 local time, later than its scheduled departure at 13:05, and was due to land at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 01:20 on Monday. However, flight tracker data showed the aircraft diverted mid-flight and landed back in Frankfurt at approximately 17:30 local time.
In Hyderabad, airport sources confirmed receiving a bomb threat email targeting the flight. “A bomb threat email targeting Lufthansa flight LH752 was received at the Hyderabad airport at 18:01 hrs on 15th June 2025," an official said.
“A bomb threat assessment committee was formed and all procedures were followed as per standard operating procedure. In the interest of safety, the airline was advised to divert back to the origin or the nearest suitable airport.”
An official from Hyderabad Airport told ANI that the threat was received while the aircraft was still outside Indian airspace. Air Traffic Control at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport was alerted shortly after the flight’s departure from Germany.
A passenger onboard shared her experience with PTI: “We just landed back in Frankfurt around 15 minutes ago and all we were told is that Hyderabad hasn’t given permission to land the flight there,” said the woman, who was travelling from the US to visit her mother in Hyderabad. “It was a smooth flight and after about two hours in the air, we were told that we would be returning to Frankfurt. Now at the airport, they are providing us accommodation for the night and have told us that we will fly out tomorrow morning at 10 am on the same flight.”
A spokesperson for Frankfurt Airport confirmed the aircraft’s return. “We can confirm that there was a return to Frankfurt Airport. For further information, please contact the Federal Police or the airline,” the spokesperson said.
The incident coincided with a similar situation involving British Airways flight BA35 from London to Chennai, which returned to Heathrow on Sunday due to a technical issue. “The aircraft returned to Heathrow as a standard precaution after reports of a technical issue,” the airline said. “The flight landed safely with crew and customers disembarking as they normally would, and our teams worked hard to get their journeys back on track as soon as possible.”
Sunday’s scare also follows a separate bomb threat that forced an Air India flight to return to Phuket on Friday, and comes in the wake of last week’s tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad, where a Dreamliner en route to London Gatwick crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 270 people.