Hijack threat letter found mid-air - passenger flight returns to Bengaluru

Panic broke out after a hijack threat letter was found on an IndiGo passenger flight travelling from Bengaluru to Lucknow. The flight was turned back to Bengaluru and landed on an emergency basis.

The flight had taken off from Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport with 178 passengers when a passenger going to the toilet found a handwritten letter. It said the flight would be hijacked at 6.30pm and warned that the warning should not be ignored.

When the passenger informed cabin crew, the pilot immediately contacted air traffic control and turned the flight back to Bengaluru. All passengers were evacuated after it landed safely.

Security personnel, bomb disposal experts and sniffer dogs then fully searched the aircraft and passengers' belongings. It was finally confirmed to be a hoax threat. No passenger was harmed. Aviation officials expressed concern that such hoax threats disrupt flight services and waste the time of security agencies. Police are investigating who wrote the letter.