Kolkata-Mumbai Flight: A passenger was arrested in connection with an incident involving a hijacking note found on Air India flight AI 2772 (Kolkata–Mumbai), on Thursday. The accused was apprehended and handed over to the NSCBI Airport Police Station, said Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata.
HT reported that the accused's handwriting was matched with that of the hijack threat note. Airport authorities arrested him as he was scheduled to fly to Mumbai.
Hijack Threat To Kolkata-Mumbai Air India Flight
The development came a day after a hijack threat to a Mumbai-bound Air India flight before take-off on Wednesday morning that prompted security officials to park the aircraft in an isolation bay of the airport in Kolkata. However, the statutory checks turned out to be a hoax.
Security agencies were put on alert after a threat note was spotted on the flight at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. Before takeoff, the pilot informed Air Traffic Control (ATC), after which airport authorities activated security protocols.
8-Hour Delay Due To Hoax
The incident caused an around 8-hour delay of the flight. Authorities at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport said flight AI 2772 departed at 5.38 pm after necessary checks as per protocol. The flight was originally scheduled to depart around 10.30 am.
The note threatening that the plane would be hijacked at 11.10 am was found in the washroom just before take-off.
Vikram Singh, the director of the Kolkata Airport, said all 105 passengers in the aircraft were deboarded, and it was taken to the isolation bay.
According to an official statement, the note was found inside the lavatory of the Air India flight by its cabin crew at 10.37 am. "The aircraft had 105 passengers on board when the note was detected," it said. Air India is yet to issue a statement on the matter.
(With Agencies Inputs)