Kochi (Kerala): Passengers on board an Indigo flight from Kochi to Bengaluru were deboarded at the international airport here on Monday after receiving a call regarding the presence of a bomb in the aircraft, airport sources said. The flight -- 6E6482 -- was scheduled to depart for Bengaluru at 10.30 AM. The passengers were offloaded and the aircraft was moved to an isolation bay for further inspection, airport sources said.
The threat came through an internet call. Following this, the IndiGo flight, which had moved to the runway to depart for Bangalore, was called back. The aircraft was then moved to an isolation parking bay.
Nedumbassery police also confirmed receipt of the bomb threat and said that a team has been sent to investigate the matter. All 139 passengers on board, including a baby, were shifted to the security hold area at gate number seven. As per protocol, a bomb threat assessment committee was convened under the chairmanship of the airport director and security forces comprising CISF QRT, bomb squad, state police and CIAL department ARFF were taking further action.
The luggage was checked by the bomb squad, but nothing was found. With this, the airport authorities confirmed that it was a Hoax call. After completing the security checks, the Indigo flight returned to Bangalore by 2:24 pm. In the wake of the bomb threat, security measures were also increased on other flights and at the airport. Meanwhile, the Nedumbassery police have started an investigation into the anonymous bomb threat call.
It is pertinent to mention that there was a fake bomb threat at the Nedumbassery airport on August 1 as well. The police had arrested a woman from Thrissur in the incident. She was going to Mumbai on an Indigo flight. After the incident, a security check was conducted on the plane but it was found that the threat was fake.
The woman, who was enraged by the security personnel's repeated questions about what was in the baggage, said that it was a bomb. Due to this, the flight to Mumbai was delayed. After the incident, the security personnel handed over the woman to the Nedumbassery police. After detailed interrogation, the woman was produced before the court and remanded.
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