Security apparatus at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) went into a tizzy on Tuesday after the Jet Airways call centre received threats about bombs in five of its aircraft scheduled to fly from the airport.
The calls — traced to South Asian country by the Delhi Police — were made hours after blasts ripped through Brussels airport killing over 35 and injuring over 200 people. Security in and round IGI airport was further beefed up following the terrorist strike at Brussels airport.
While three of the planes had already departed by the time the anonymous call was received, the fourth aircraft, which was bound for Chennai, was diverted to Nagpur, sources said. Another plane, also bound for Chennai which was preparing for takeoff, was grounded and is undergoing checks by the security agencies (at the time of this story going to press), a senior police official said.
“Jet Airways has received a security alert for five flights from Delhi. All flights are on ground and are being checked by security agencies at the respective airports,” the airline said in a tweet but did not share specific details. “We regret the inconvenience caused to our guests. The safety and security of our guests and crew is always our main priority,” Jet Airways said.
Sources said the three planes, which received bomb threats, had already flown to their respective destinations — Gorakhpur, Chandigarh and Dehradun. Besides, the Delhi-Chennai flight 9W829, which was diverted, landed under emergency conditions at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur at 4.40 pm with 154 passengers on board, including BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, and seven crew members, all the passengers and their baggage were off loaded, airport sources said. While the passengers were taken to the airport lounge, their baggage were searched thoroughly with the help of sniffer dogs.
Senior police officials said several measures have been initiated at the IGI airport to ensure safety and security of passengers. Special watch is being on vehicles entering and moving out of the airport premises.