Air India Bomb Threat Hoax: Kerala Man With Wife And Daughter Arrested At Cochin Airport

The London-bound Air India flight received a bomb threat on Tuesday, which was later determined to be a hoax - the latest in a series of threats witnessed by Indian airports in recent months.

An arrest was made by authorities here of a 29-year-old man suspected of making the threatening call, according to an official statement.

Air India Bomb Threat Hoax At Cochin Airport

A spokesperson from Cochin International Airport confirmed that security checks were extensively conducted on the aircraft, revealing no danger and allowing the flight to proceed as scheduled. As per the spokesperson, a bomb threat call was received by the Air India call centre in Mumbai early on Tuesday for flight AI 149, scheduled from Cochin to London Gatwick.

The alert was communicated to Air India and Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) promptly at 1:22 AM. Following established protocols, a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) was immediately convened at CIAL, which assessed and declared the threat as specific.

After this assessment, thorough security checks were conducted by the Airport Security Group (ASG-CISF), airline security personnel, and inline baggage screening systems. As recommended by the Cochin Airport BTAC, the aircraft was relocated to an isolated parking point, where comprehensive security measures were implemented. After a thorough inspection, the aircraft was cleared for departure.

The suspect, Suhaib, 29 years old, who allegedly made the threatening call, was apprehended by ASG at the international departure terminal of Cochin Airport during check-in. Suhaib, accompanied by his wife and daughter, has been handed over to the police for further investigation and legal action, according to the spokesperson.

Earlier this month, bomb threat emails originating from the email address [email protected] were received at forty-one airports across the country, reported PTI. Following extensive anti-sabotage inspections by security agencies, which lasted several hours, each threat was determined to be a hoax. Airports activated contingency plans, conducted thorough anti-sabotage checks, and swept the terminals based on recommendations from their respective Bomb Threat Assessment Committees.