Second bomb scare in a day at Kolkata airport; Dibrugarh flight lands safely

Hours after a Shillong-bound IndiGo flight was grounded at the city airport following a bomb threat that later turned out to be a hoax, a fresh security scare was reported on a Dibrugarh-Kolkata flight on Saturday evening after a suspicious message was found inside the aircraft toilet, officials said.

The IndiGo flight 6E 6894 landed safely at 7.37 pm at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport and was immediately taken to the isolation bay as per security protocol. All passengers were safely deboarded, the statement said.

The message, reportedly written with lipstick, was found inside the aircraft toilet, “indicating a bomb threat”, it added.

Earlier in the day, a Shillong-bound aircraft was stranded at the Kolkata airport for around four hours following a bomb threat.

The IndiGo flight 6E 7304 was moved to the isolation bay after the discovery of a handwritten note claiming that a bomb had been placed on the plane, it said.

The threat, however, later turned out to be a hoax, and the flight left for its destination at 1.33 pm following a thorough search as per standard security protocols.

An Airports Authority of India (AAI) spokesperson said the note was discovered in the lavatory by one of the crew members around 9.15 am, around 15 minutes before its scheduled departure time.

Thereafter, the passengers were safely deboarded, and the aircraft was moved to the isolation bay. Standard security protocols were followed and a thorough inspection was conducted by the agencies concerned, he said.

Upon completion of all safety checks and clearance by security authorities, the aircraft was declared safe for operations, the AAI spokesperson added.