‘Bomb hoax’: AI flight delayed by 5 hours

A high drama was witnessed at the local Sri Guru Ram Dass International (SGRI) Airport Saturday midnight when Air India’s Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight was stopped moments before taking off,following the recovery of two “unidentified” bags on the plane. There was reportedly a bomb scare and security agencies swung into action. The aircraft was searched again,delaying the flight by five hours.

The flight was to take off at its schedule departure time of 10.45 PM,but two passengers,who had checked in their luggage and were cleared for boarding,were found to be still on the ground when the aircraft had already left for the runway. The security agencies were baffled and informed the Air Traffic Control,which asked the pilot to take the aircraft back to the tarmac.

The two passengers,too,had raised an alarm that while the plane left without them,their luggage was nowhere in sight. “All 40-odd passengers on board were then asked to de-plane and the aircraft was searched again. The bomb squad had been requisitioned,too,but it was soon discovered that the ‘unclaimed’ bags belonged to the two passengers who had not boarded the plane,leading to the entire confusion,” said a senior security official at the airport.

Air India Manager Shashi Kant Kaundal said the flight finally took off at 3.30 am and they had already ordered an inquiry into the matter.