Delhi Police Confirms Bomb Scare On Varanasi-Bound Flight Was Hoax

A Varanasi-bound IndiGo flight received a bomb threat at the airport here on Tuesday morning but a search of the aircraft found it to be a hoax, police said. The bomb scare prompted authorities to evacuate all the staff and 176 passengers onboard and launch a search operation, they said. The passengers will be flown to Varanasi in another plane, which is expected to take off at 11 am, an IndiGo spokesperson said in a statement.

"At around 5 am, an information was received regarding a paper found in the lavatory of an Indigo flight scheduled to depart for Varanasi, with the phrase "bomb @5.30'' written on it," a senior police officer said. A thorough inspection was conducted, the officer said, adding, "No suspicious items were found. It was a hoax threat. Further investigation is underway."

The officials said the threat was found written on a piece of paper in a lavatory by the pilot when the Indigo 6E2211 flight was preparing to leave from the Indira Gandhi International Airport. A security operation was launched after the pilot informed the control room, they added. "All necessary protocols were followed and the aircraft was taken to a remote bay as per guidelines by airport security agencies," the IndiGo spokesperson said.

There was a report of a bomb in the flight going from Delhi to Varanasi.

Immediately after that the passengers got out of the plane

Bomb squad checked the plane but no suspicious object has been found in the flight yet!

#Bombthreat #DelhiAirport pic.twitter.com/QNENRiwoDt

— Vandana Meena (@vannumeena0) May 28, 2024

All passengers were safely evacuated via the emergency exits," the spokesperson added.