DEHRADUN: A bomb scare caused panic at Dehradun Airport on Tuesday evening, following a threat received on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) regarding an Alliance Air flight.
Police, security agencies, and bomb disposal teams responded promptly, securing the aircraft and cordoning off the area.
"We received a bomb threat on Twitter regarding Alliance Air's flight, which arrived from Amritsar at 4:22 pm," airport administration sources stated.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) quickly took action, evacuating all 32 passengers and moving them to a safe location, approximately 3 kilometres from the terminal. "As a precautionary measure, all 32 passengers were immediately evacuated and taken to a safe distance," the source added.
Security agencies thoroughly searched the aircraft after it landed. "The bomb threat was later found to be a hoax," confirmed airport authorities, bringing relief to all involved.
Airport Director Prabhakar Mishra shared, "The airport dog squad team also reached the spot, and the aircraft was thoroughly searched." He expressed relief as no explosives were found. "Fortunately, no bomb was found on the flight," Mishra added.
The bomb scare resulted in the diversion of several incoming flights scheduled to land at Dehradun Airport around the same time. "Flights from other cities were diverted due to the bomb threat," Mishra explained. After receiving clearance, the Alliance Air flight was returned to the terminal, and an Indigo flight bound for Delhi, which had been grounded, was allowed to depart.
Following the incident, a case was registered against unknown individuals at Doiwala Police Station, based on a complaint filed by NP Singh Mung, Deputy Commandant/CASO of the CISF Unit ASG Dehradun.