Threat to blow up plane with hydrogen bomb & hijacking triggers emergency landing at Kolkata airport

An Alliance Air flight en route from Assam to Kolkata was forced to make an emergency landing at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on Sunday following a hoax bomb threat involving 10 passengers. Authorities confirmed on Monday that the bomb scare was one of 25 similar hoaxes reported across India on the same day, sparking nationwide concern.

Airport officials responded swiftly when they discovered a social media post claiming that 10 passengers aboard Alliance Air flight 9I0752 (VTRKJ) were carrying “two bombs each.” The flight, which was carrying 73 passengers, was immediately diverted to a separate bay for an emergency landing at 2:02 PM. Security forces carried out a thorough search of the passengers and the aircraft, only to determine that the bomb threat was a hoax.

The incident in Kolkata coincided with a series of similar threats that affected 25 flights across the country. The surge in false bomb threats has prompted high-level discussions among senior officials from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), and Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. Authorities are actively working to address the spike in these hoaxes, which pose a serious disruption to airline operations.

In response to the alarming rise in such threats, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is considering taking stringent actions against those responsible for issuing false bomb warnings. One proposed measure includes placing individuals who send hoax threats on the “no-fly list,” which would effectively ban them from traveling by air. The government is also exploring potential amendments to existing rules and legislation to curb these dangerous actions.

The incident has put security agencies, airport personnel, and local law enforcement on high alert. Officials have been directed to ramp up security measures and remain vigilant, particularly as the motivations behind these hoax threats remain unclear.

“While these false alarms may seem like harmless pranks to some, they can have far-reaching consequences,” a senior official noted. “False bomb threats result in flight delays, diversions, and cancellations, affecting thousands of passengers. In addition, airlines suffer significant financial losses due to these disruptions.”