A passenger has been apprehended and handed over to airport police following a false hijack threat involving an Air India flight scheduled to travel from Kolkata to Mumbai, officials said on Thursday.
The development comes after a security scare on Wednesday forced flight AI 2772 to remain grounded for more than seven hours following the discovery of a handwritten threat note inside the aircraft’s lavatory shortly before its scheduled departure.
In a statement, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed that the passenger was handed over to the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Police Station for further investigation.
According to Kolkata airport director Vikram Singh, a cabin crew member discovered the handwritten note at approximately 10.37 am. The message reportedly warned that the aircraft would be hijacked at 11.10 am, shortly after its scheduled departure time of around 10.30 am.
Following the discovery, all 105 passengers on board were evacuated as a precautionary measure, while the aircraft was moved to an isolated bay for thorough security inspections by the relevant agencies.
After the security assessment, authorities established that the threat was a hoax. The aircraft was subsequently cleared for departure and left Kolkata for Mumbai at 5.38 pm, ending the hours-long disruption.
The incident follows a similar security scare involving an IndiGo flight travelling from Bengaluru to Lucknow. The aircraft was forced to return to Bengaluru after a handwritten hijack threat was discovered inside its lavatory.
Passengers on the IndiGo flight were also disembarked while security personnel conducted the necessary inspections before the aircraft was allowed to continue its journey.
