Nagpur-Kolkata IndiGo flight lands in Raipur after bomb threat; turns out to be hoax

Raipur: An IndiGo flight from Nagpur to Kolkata on Thursday made an emergency landing here after receiving a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax, officials said.

A passenger was detained following the incident. The flight with 187 passengers and six crew members onboard landed at the Swami Vivekananda Airport here sometime after 9 am following the threat, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh said.

As per the preliminary information, a passenger told aircraft crew members about the presence of a bomb when the flight was mid-air. The Air Traffic Control was informed and the flight was diverted to Raipur.

Upon landing, it was immediately taken to the isolation bay for mandatory security checks, the police official said. A police team and a bomb squad also reached the airport.

All the passengers were deboarded and the aircraft and the passengers' luggage were thoroughly checked, Singh said.

"After complete inspection, the bomb threat was found to be a hoax. The passenger who had informed about the bomb was detained and is being questioned," the police official added.

The flight departed for Kolkata around 12 noon, airport officials said. On October 24, a similar threat was issued to an Alliance Air flight from Kolkata to Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) following which the aircraft was checked at the Bilaspur airport but nothing suspicious was found.