All the passengers from a Varanasi-bound Indigo flight were evacuated from the plane after a threat was found written on a piece of paper in a lavatory when the Indigo 6E2211 flight was preparing to take off.
After the incident, IndiGo issued statement saying, "Flight 6E2211 operating from Delhi to Varanasi had received a specific bomb threat at Delhi airport. Following necessary protocols the aircraft was taken to a remote bay as per guidelines by airport security agencies."
Passengers evacuated safely
"All passengers were safely evacuated via the emergency exits. The flight is currently undergoing inspection. Post completion of all security checks, the aircraft will be positioned back in the terminal area," the statement further read.
According to reports, there were a total of 176 passengers on the flight.
A video of the incident has surfaced online.
The flight was scheduled to take off from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport around 5 am, according to reports.
"At 5:40 am, a phone call was received from IGI airport about a bomb threat. A message stating 'BOMB BLAST @30 MINUTES' was written on a piece of paper inside the lavatory of the flight and was discovered by the pilot," an official told NDTV.
Hoax bomb threat cases
Earlier this month, a tissue paper with the word 'bomb' written on it was found in the lavatory of an Air India flight at Delhi airport, but it turned out to be a hoax.
Police reported receiving information on May 15 about a tissue paper with the word 'bomb' found in the lavatory of an Air India flight scheduled to depart for Vadodara.
In a similar incident in September last year, an Akasa aircraft from Mumbai with 166 people onboard made an emergency landing at Varanasi airport after the airline received a bomb threat message on social media.
According to the airline, there were 166 people onboard, including 159 passengers, 1 infant and 6 operating operating crew members in the Mumbai-Varanasi flight.
Varanasi Airport Director Puneet Gupta said that after a thorough security check, nothing objectionable was found and the aircraft was declared safe.
