Bomb scares at Varanasi, Thiruvananthapuram airports; Canadian held

There were two separate incidents of bomb hoax involving airports over the weekend.

In the north, panic broke out at Varanasi airport on Saturday (April 26) night after a foreign national aboard a Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight claimed he was carrying a bomb.

Police said the passenger, a Canadian, has been detained. Security sleuths are questioning the man, they added.

Also read: Mumbai Police receive bomb threat call; man detained

Probe on

Following the bomb scare, the aircraft was moved to the isolation bay for a thorough inspection, but no explosive material was found, said Puneet Gupta, director of the airport.

Gupta said the IndiGo crew of flight 6E 499 promptly informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) about the threat after the passenger’s claim.

The flight was grounded and inspected as per standard security protocols. After receiving clearance from security agencies, the aircraft departed for Bengaluru on Sunday morning, officials said.

A detailed probe is on in the matter.

Also read: Hoax bomb threats: Delhi Police to hold training session for teachers

Thiruvananthapuram airport gets bomb threat

Early on Sunday, Thiruvananthapuram International Airport received a bomb threat via email, which turned out to be a hoax.

The email was received in the official email ID of the airport manager.

“As soon as the information was received, Kerala police and CISF personnel conducted a thorough check at the airport and its premises, but found nothing suspicious. The bomb threat was confirmed to be a hoax,” a police officer told the Press.

As a precaution, TRV Airport’s Bomb Threat Assessment Committee implemented relevant security measures at the airport, according to airport authorities.

Also read: Delhi: 12-year-old held for school bomb threat, released after counselling

Operations unaffected

The airport management is actively coordinating with security agencies in this regard, an airport spokesperson said in a statement.

Airport operations remained unaffected, the spokesperson added.

The airport received the hoax threat days after several major institutions, including the High Court and district collectorates in the state, received a series of bomb threat messages, which turned out to be fake.

(With agency inputs)