LUCKNOW: Panic gripped the flyers on an IndiGo flight en route from Lucknow to Delhi on Friday after a hoax bomb threat was received shortly before the take-off from the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport.
Airport sources say a tissue paper with the word ‘bomb’ written on it was found inside the lavatory of the aircraft just as it was readying for the take-off. The scare resulted in a major security response leading the authorities to deboard the passengers and carry out an intense search operation.
The flight 6E2111, which faced the bomb threat, operates on the Ahmedabad–Delhi–Lucknow route. However, the flight carrying around 180 passengers, which was scheduled to depart from Lucknow for Delhi at 10.45 am, got delayed.
The matter was immediately reported to the authorities concerned at around 11:15 am. Following the standard aviation security procedures, a local standby was announced and all the agencies concerned were alerted.
The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee took up the issue and classified the scare as ‘specific.’ The aircraft was shifted to the Isolation Aircraft Parking Position, the passengers were deboarded and a search operation was launched. However, no explosive was found on the aircraft.