Bomb scare on Kolkata-Shillong IndiGo flight, plane grounded — what we know so far

An IndiGo flight travelling from Kolkata to Shillong had to be moved to the isolation bay at the Kolkata airport on Saturday after a bomb threat.

The incident took place on board flight 6E 3074, which was scheduled to depart the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 9.15 am.

The threat emerged after flight crew members found a piece of paper inside the aircraft's toilet, as per the Kolkata airport director, who spoke with ANI. The note claimed that there was a bomb inside the aircraft.

Passengers were already on board the flight and were promptly evacuated, the airport official said.

The aircraft, meanwhile, was moved to the isolation bay, away from the main terminal and other active taxiways.

“All passengers and crew have been safely evacuated. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are currently being followed, which include a thorough sweep of the cabin and a re-screening of all checked and carry-on baggage,” an airport official was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The publication added that luggage from the flight has been offloaded onto the tarmac for specialized screening by bomb disposal units and dog squads.

It is currently unclear if any suspicious items have been found: airport authorities are yet to comment on the same.

Heavy CISF deployment

The incident led to a significant deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the Kolkata airport, Indian Express reported, adding that security personnel were being stationed around the isolation zone.

Specialized airport vehicles, including a fire tender and ground staff in high-visibility vests, were also reportedly seen coordinating the operation.

Second flight bomb threat this week

Saturday's bomb threat was the second such incident to take place this week, with a similar incident taking place in Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) days ago.

An e-mail received on Wednesday threatened a blast at the Hyderabad airport when a Gulf Air flight from Bahrain landed, alleging that extremist elements were on board.

The mail's subject line read 'Holy Jihad: Blast in Hyderabad Airport Terminals When Gulf Air 274 From Bahrain Lands to RGIA', while the sender claimed to represent a group identifying as the Tamil Liberation Organisation (TLO), as per a report by NDTV.

Once the threat was received, RGIA authorities activated the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC), which declared the threat as "non-specific" after a detailed assessment.