BENGALURU : A chit found by a flyer in the male washroom of Terminal -1 oF Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Wednesday at around 3.40 am about a bomb being placed inside the airport sent security agencies and police into a frenzy. After intensive checks at both the terminals of the airport, it was declared a hoax at around 7 am.
An airport source said the flight operations were not impacted. This is the second hoax threat received by the airport within a fortnight.
According to a security official, "An individual who found the chit inside the airport alerted an airport staff who immediately alerted us. Our Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and sniffer dogs were immediately pressed into action. Many of our personnel too intensified checks. After much checks, we found it to be a hoax."
Baggage and passenger checks by the Central Industrial Security Force slowed down as many personnel had to be diverted to carry out checks in connection with the bomb, the official added.
An airport source confirmed there was a hoax bomb threat in the morning but refused to offer any comments. police officer at the airport police station also confirmed the incident.
This comes close on the heels of bomb threats issued to many schools in Bengaluru earlier this month. On May 17, an Air India Express flyer claimed his check-in bag had a bomb during security screening before boarding his flight and it turned out to be a hoax. He was booked.
A top CISF official said, "Such hoax threats that are done for fun or with a malicious intent drains our resources. We need to take every threat seriously. Unless all checks are completely done, we cannot assume it is a hoax. However, this massively impacts much of our other work."