A mirror message triggered a security search that kept passengers on IndiGo flight 6E1494 on the tarmac for more than two hours after they arrived in Kolkata from Phuket.
The Airbus A320neo landed at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 4:35 a.m. ET (08:35 UTC), equivalent to 2:05 p.m. IST, on Oct. 24, IANS and NDTV Profit reported. Cabin crew found a threatening message on a lavatory mirror after landing, the outlets said. Airport staff moved the aircraft to an isolation bay and evacuated passengers. Personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), a bomb squad and airport police then searched the plane, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
A senior airport official told PTI, “No suspicious object was found during the search.” The official said the matter was under investigation. PTI reported that police were reviewing the flight’s passenger list and onboard camera footage as they tried to identify who wrote the message.
Reports gave slightly different times for when passengers could enter the terminal. IANS put it at about 7 a.m. ET (11:00 UTC), or 4:30 p.m. IST. The Times of India reported that passengers entered at about 7:15 a.m. ET (11:15 UTC), or 4:45 p.m. IST. Both outlets described a wait of more than two hours.
The Times of India reported that 188 passengers were aboard. It said a couple missed a connecting flight to Jaipur, stayed overnight in Kolkata and was rebooked for Sunday morning.
The search followed a separate warning found Friday, Oct. 23, on tissue paper in a women’s washroom near boarding gate 30 at the airport. Hindustan Times, citing PTI, reported that officials said the search prompted by that warning did not disrupt flights. Police were still examining the passenger list and aircraft footage in the flight incident, PTI reported.
