Hoax note on Air India Kolkata-Mumbai flight sparks hijack scare

A hijack threat to an Air India flight from Kolkata to Mumbai triggered a security scare at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Wednesday after a handwritten warning was found in the aircraft’s lavatory before take-off, prompting security agencies to carry out mandatory checks, officials aware of the matter said.

The note was found by the cabin crew of flight AI 2772, an Airbus A320 (VT-TNH), at around 10.37am, when it was scheduled to depart. It warned that the aircraft would be hijacked at 11.10am, officials said.

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Safety drill initiated

The Air Traffic Control (ATC) was immediately informed, after which all concerned agencies swung into action, they said. “The aircraft was moved to an isolation bay and the mandatory security drill was initiated,” an airport official requesting anonymity said.

All 105 passengers and seven crew members were deboarded and security personnel thoroughly searched the aircraft to rule out any potential threat “as per established protocols,” the official quoted above said.

In its initial statement, Airports Authority of India (AAI), confirmed that a hijack note was found and that concerned agencies were carrying out checks.

An updated statement in the evening said, “Following the completion of all necessary checks as per established protocols, boarding for Air India flight AI 2772 (Kolkata–Mumbai) is complete at NSCBI Airport, Kolkata. The expected time of departure (ETD) is 1700 hrs.”

The aircraft eventually took off for Mumbai at 5.38pm, the airport authorities confirmed. The threat was later declared a hoax, they said.

The incident comes less than a month after two other flights faced hijack scares.

Similar hijack hoaxes

On November 7, an IndiGo flight (6E 451) from Bengaluru to Lucknow returned to Bengaluru after a passenger found a threat note inside the aircraft’s lavatory. A full emergency was declared at Bengaluru airport and checks were carried out. The threat was later declared a hoax, and the flight resumed its journey.

Earlier, on October 14, an Air India flight from Frankfurt to Delhi was diverted to Jaipur after it transmitted Squawk Code 7500, the internationally recognised code for hijacking. The alert was subsequently reported to be false, and a possible technical glitch is being examined.