Malaysia-bound flight delayed after bomb hoax by passenger at IGI Airport

New Delhi, September 30

A Malaysia-bound flight on Friday was delayed over a false bomb alarm after a fight between two passengers on board the plane at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, officials said.

Security agencies were alerted about the bomb call from the Malaysia Airlines’s MH173 around 1 pm after which they thoroughly checked the flight, the officials said.

The aircraft finally departed for Kuala Lumpur after a delay of two hours and 40 minutes and four passengers allegedly involved in the incident were handed over to the local police, they said.

“A fight broke out between two passengers for keeping their bags in the overhead cabin of the aircraft. When one passenger asked the other what was in his bag, the other replied ‘bomb’. The flight was then grounded as the pilot was informed about it and the pilot intimated the ATC (air traffic controller),” official sources told PTI.

“A bomb threat assessment committee immediately probed the matter and the flight was put through checks after which the bomb call was declared a hoax,” the sources said.    A total of four passengers — all Indians — were handed over to the police, they added.

The passenger who made the bomb claim was identified as Varindar Sidhu, according to sources.