AHMEDABAD: An Indigo flight travelling from Kuwait to Delhi was forced to to make an emergency landing in Ahmedabad airport on Friday following a suspected bomb threat, airport officials said.
A bomb threat and hijack warning, scribbled on a tissue paper, prompted the pilot to alert air traffic control, leading to the aircraft being diverted to Ahmedabad.
Airport authorities said the flight was carrying 180 passengers, all of whom were safely evacuated upon landing. Security personnel and airport staff conducted a thorough search of the aircraft, as well as checks on passengers and their baggage, but no explosives were found.
“So far, no suspicious object has been recovered,” sources confirmed, even as uncertainty kept
Speaking to the media, Airport Police Station PI N.D. Nkum said, “As soon as the threat input was received, all security agencies were alerted. The aircraft was thoroughly checked by the BDDS (Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad). The aircraft was grounded for nearly two hours. However, no explosive material was found during the search.”
He added that while the physical checks were complete, “further investigation is continuing strictly as per laid-down protocol.”
However, neither IndiGo nor the airport authorities have issued any official statement on the incident so far.
Earlier on January 27, Ahmedabad Airport had received a separate bomb threat via e-mail, warning of an explosive planted in the airport’s luggage section. That alert also sent security teams into overdrive, only to be later declared false after exhaustive checks.
Despite both threats turning out to be hoaxes, officials are not taking chances. A formal complaint has been registered by airport security at the airport police station, and investigators are now tracing the origin of both the tissue-paper threat and the threatening email, suspecting a deliberate attempt to disrupt aviation security.