An IndiGo flight from Bengaluru to Lucknow turned back on Saturday after a handwritten hijack threat was found in a toilet, according to The Federal and Vartha Bharati.
The response followed the standard playbook: the pilot informed air traffic control, a full emergency was declared at Terminal 1, passengers were evacuated, and bomb disposal and dog squads checked the aircraft and bags.
The cost of a hoax is real, with 178 passengers delayed, an aircraft taken out of service for hours and security teams pulled into a full response. Investigators suspect the note may have been planted by someone on board, but no arrest has been reported.
The reports differ on who found the note and do not give the landing time.
The aircraft was in the air for 51 minutes before returning, according to Flightradar24 data cited by Vartha Bharati.
A full emergency was declared at Kempegowda International Airport’s Terminal 1 as a precaution, according to The Federal.
After landing, the aircraft was moved to an isolated area, and CISF, Bengaluru police and other agencies surrounded it, according to Vartha Bharati.
All passengers were evacuated as per standard operating procedures, according to the same report.
A bomb disposal squad and a dog squad checked the aircraft and the passengers’ baggage, according to Vartha Bharati.
Airport sources told The Hindu that no suspicious objects were found and that the threat was found to be a hoax after the inspection, according to Vartha Bharati, and the emergency was withdrawn.
The Federal’s report does not state a hoax finding, and says only that the flight would take off again after security clearances.
Police questioned passengers, and sources told NDTV that investigators suspected the note may have been planted by someone on board, according to The Federal.
Officials said an investigation had been launched to identify the person who left the note, according to Vartha Bharati.
IndiGo Airbus A320 (file image, not the aircraft involved), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0