An Istanbul-bound Turkish Airlines flight from Bangkok with 148 passengers onboard landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) under full emergency conditions due to a bomb scare on Tuesday. However, no explosives were found onboard during a thorough security check-up, following which, the aircraft was cleared for take-off.
“The pilot was informed of a message written with lipstick on the mirror of one of the plane’s washrooms that there was a bomb in the cargo hold of the aircraft, leading the pilot to seek Nagpur ATC’s permission to land the aircraft there. He directed the pilot to approach the Delhi ATC,” the sources said.
Following this, the aircraft was diverted to Delhi. The plane, an Airbus 330, landed safely at IGIA 1.40 pm, and was taken to an isolation bay, sources said, adding “it appears to be a hoax”.
All passengers were evacuated safely from the flight and emergency declared at the airport. All security agencies, including the National Security Guard (NSG) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) were placed on high alert. A bomb disposal squad scanned the plane along with a dog squad. Senior officials of CISF and NSG officials held a meeting after the bomb scare.
The entire area was cordoned off and the fire brigade was alerted. Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to CISF DG Surender Singh, who apprised him about the situation at the IGIA. Turkish Airlines, in a statement, said that its flight was diverted to Delhi following a possible bomb threat. “Turkish Airlines Bangkok — Istanbul flight (TK065, A 330 Aircraft, carrying 134 passengers) was diverted to Delhi after a possible bomb threat. The plane has already landed in Delhi and all of our passengers and cabin crew have been safely evacuated and taken to the terminal building,” it said.
later Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said the NSG and bomb disposal squad were pressed into service.
“No explosive was found inside the cabin. The cargo portion was also checked.”
The Aviation Ministry has sought details of the passengers from the Turkish Airline authorities to ascertain whether the prank was played by one of them. “We are also interrogating passengers to find out whether someone has done some mischievous activity. We are in touch with the Turkish Airlines to get the details of the passengers,” MoS for Civil Aviation told PTI in Kolkata.