Air India hijack alert at Kolkata airport; Mumbai-bound Air India flight to isolation bay
Air India flight AI 772 to Mumbai was moved to an isolation bay at Kolkata airport after a hijack alert was found on a toilet mirror. 147 passengers were evacuated
PTC Web Desk: A Mumbai-bound Air India flight carrying 147 passengers was moved to an isolation bay at Kolkata airport on Wednesday morning after crew members spotted a “hijack alert” written on a toilet mirror just before takeoff, airport police said.
The message was discovered at around 10.20 am on Flight AI 772, operated under the Air India Vistara brand. The pilot was getting the aircraft ready for departure when cabin crew noticed the warning on the mirror. It appeared to have been written with lipstick, an airport police officer said on condition of anonymity.
Security protocol was triggered immediately and the aircraft was taken to the isolation bay, a remote spot on the airfield used to handle suspected threats.
All passengers were safely taken off the plane. Security personnel, fire brigade teams and a bomb squad were deployed to search the aircraft and the airport premises.
“This is part of the normal procedure,” the officer said.
The police have not yet said who wrote the message or whether any suspect has been identified.
In a statement, the airport said: “At 1037 hrs today, a hijack note was found by the cabin crew inside the lavatory of Air India flight AI 2772 (A320, registration VT-TNH), operating on the Kolkata (CCU) – Mumbai (BOM) sector at NSCBI Airport, Kolkata. Necessary checks are currently underway by the agencies concerned as per established protocols.”
More details are awaited
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