The Bengaluru-bound Indigo flight with 139 passengers, including an infant, on board on Monday received a bomb threat call. The passengers were immediately deboarded at the Kochi International Airport and the aircraft was moved to an isolation bay for inspection.
According to the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), the IndiGo flight 6E 6482 was scheduled to depart from Kochi to Bengaluru at 10.30 am, when a bomb threat call was received at the airport's CISF control room specifically about the Bengaluru bound flight.
139 passengers were offloaded
"Subsequently the aircraft was shifted to the isolation parking bay. All 139 passengers, including an infant, were offloaded and shifted to the security hold area. As per protocol, a bomb threat assessment committee chaired by the Airport Director was convened and interventions as per established procedure involving the CISF Quick Response Team (QRT), bomb squad, State Police, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) and airport security were carried out," the statement said.
Simultaneously, rescreening of the luggage was carried out, and the entire procedure was concluded by 1 pm. However, no suspicious items were discovered in the luggage. The flight departed for Bengaluru at 2.24 pm.
Hoax bomb threat
The budget carrier Indigo later in a statement also informed about the hoax call. "IndiGo flight 6E 6482 operating from Kochi to Bengaluru received a hoax bomb threat today. As per protocol, the aircraft was taken to a remote bay for search by the security agencies at the Kochi airport. After thorough checks and investigation, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers," the airline said.
Meanwhile, the police have registered a case and have started an investigation to trace the origin of the internet call through which the threat was made.
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(With agencies input)
