AMRITSAR: A state of panic ensued at Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport following receipt of a bomb threat on Monday. However, the investigations clarified the threat to be a hoax call.
According to sources, while conducting cleaning procedures on Air India flight AI 170, which arrived from Gatwick, UK, to Amritsar, a cleaning staff member discovered a piece of paper inscribed with the word "bomb" within one of the aircraft's bathrooms and immediately reported the same to the higher authorities.
The plane had arrived with 187 passengers onboard.
Sources further informed that the teams from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) cordoned off the plane and initiated thorough investigations and launched a search operation but they didn’t find anything.
Later a release issued by the airport authorities said that a bomb threat was received for an incoming Air India flight AI 170 from Gatwik, UK to Amritsar.
It said, "The flight was fully searched by the authorized personals following all coral procedures but no explosive or bomb was found. It was a hoax call".
The release further said that the flight again departed for Gatwik from Amritsar with 240 passengers.