February 20th was a tricky day for IndiGo as the airline had to deal with bomb threats on three separate flights. One of the flights was on the busy Mumbai-Delhi route, while another one, bound for Deogarh, had to be diverted to Lucknow. A third flight between Hyderabad and Chennai also had to be isolated upon landing after an angry passenger made a hoax call after being denied boarding.
Delhi-Deogarh flight
IndiGo flight 6E 6191 is a scheduled service between Delhi and Deogarh in the state of Odisha. On Monday, the flight took off at 11:10 for its hour-and-a-half-long flight but had to be diverted to Lucknow’s Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport (CCSIA) following a bomb threat.
The plane landed in Lucknow at 12:20, with all security protocols in place. After a thorough examination of the aircraft, it was cleared for takeoff. A CCSIA spokesperson commented,
“Indigo flight 6E-6191 flying from Delhi to Deogarh got diverted to Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, due to security reasons. The flight landed safely at CCSIA at 12:20 pm and was taken to the isolation bay. The airport security followed necessary checks to verify the threat and after proper investigation, the threat turned out to be a hoax and the aircraft was released for the onward journey at 14:55.”
Mumbai-Delhi flight
IndiGo flight 6E2051 is a scheduled service between Mumbai and Delhi with a departure time of 22:15. On Monday, the flight took off almost 30 minutes late, but midway into the flight received a bomb threat.
The plane did not divert and landed safely at Delhi airport. It was then taken to an isolated bay and checked for anything suspicious. The airline released a statement, which said,
“As per protocol, the aircraft was taken to a remote bay for search by the security agencies on arrival at Delhi airport. The passengers left the airport after all the necessary security protocols were followed. IndiGo is following the rules of the security agencies in the investigation. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers.”
Irate passenger makes a threat
On the same day, an IndiGo passenger disrupted its operations after being denied boarding for turning up late at the airport. Reports identify the passenger as a 59-year-old man who showed up for his Hyderabad-Chennai flight late and was not allowed to board the aircraft.
The flight in question was 6E6151, with a departure time of 10:15. IndiGo followed the protocol of not allowing the passenger to board the plane, but the matter soon escalated further. The passenger called the Police Control Room and said that there was a bomb onboard the flight.
As a result, the plane was then taken to an isolated bay upon landing in Chennai, where it was given the all-clear after some time. The passenger who made the hoax call was apprehended by the police and issued a notice before being let off.