All passengers have been evacuated and the aircraft are being sanitised. (File Photo)
Highlights
- Air India flight to Bhubaneswar, Kathmandu-bound Nepal Airlines grounded
- Four parliamentarians were on board one of the flights.
- All passengers evacuated, search underway
New Delhi:
A Bhubaneswar-bound Air India flight and Kathmandu-bound Nepal Airlines were grounded at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport today following a bomb threat.
The call was received by the airport control room around 10 AM.
Four parliamentarians were on board the Air India flight.
All passengers have been evacuated and the aircraft are being sanitised. Both aircraft have been taken to isolation for security clearance.
While the Kathmandu flight (RA-206) had 155 passengers and nine crew members, the flight bound for Bhubaneswar (AI-075) had 178 fliers and seven crew members.
Passengers of both the flights and their baggage were subjected to a second round of checking with the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) monitoring the situation.
Security personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force and Delhi Police cordoned off the two planes along with bomb disposal squads, the officials said.
They added the threat was triggered after the airport control room received a call from a person identifying himself as Abhishek Singh, a "CBI officer" and said that while there is a "time bomb" in the Nepal bound flight, some "movement" has happened at the terminal area to hit the Air India flight.
Officials said the agencies are trying to track the number and location from where the call was made to the airport call centre.
On Wednesday, passengers on an
Air India flight from Delhi were evacuated on an emergency slide at Bangkok's main international airport following a false bomb threat, according to Thai authorities.
The Bangkok-bound Air India Flight 332, carrying 231 passengers, was ordered to park in an isolated part of Suvarnabhumi airport following reports of a possible explosive on board.
The airport called off its emergency procedure shortly after midnight.