Bomb threat scare on Air India flight from Mumbai a hoax, say police

A bomb threat message in the washroom of an AI flight from Mumbai that resulted in a full emergency being declared at the Thiruvananthapuram airport here on Thursday turned out to be a hoax according to the police.

A senior officer of the Thiruvananthapuram city police said the threat was a hoax.

The police also said that no explosive was found on the aircraft after an intensive search carried out by security agencies.

The emergency declared at the airport in the morning was withdrawn around 12.10 pm, airport sources said, adding that all the 135 passengers who travelled on the flight were permitted to leave at 12.45 pm.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

Earlier in the morning, the pilot of the aircraft informed the ATC about the threat after a 'Bomb in flight' message, written on a tissue paper, was found in the washroom of the plane, the sources said.

The bomb threat was communicated by the pilot at 7.30 am as the aircraft approached the Thiruvananthapuram airport, the sources said.

Subsequently, a full emergency was declared at the airport at 7.36 am, they said.

Thereafter, the aircraft with 135 passengers on-board landed safely at the airport around 8 am and was moved to an isolation bay.

The passengers were evacuated by around 8.44 am and security agencies, including a bomb detection squad, inspected the aircraft for any explosive devices, the sources said.

As a result, the passengers waited at the airport for their luggage to be delivered, they said.

Meanwhile, Air India, in a statement, said that a specific security alert was detected on flight AI 657 during cruise from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram and "the crew carried out all the laid down security drills keeping passenger safety as top priority."

"All passengers and crew disembarked safely. Air India accords top priority to the safety of its passengers and crew," an airline spokesperson said.