Bomb hoax delays Amritsar-Gatwick flight by four hours

Amritsar, August 21

The Amritsar-Gatwick flight was delayed for around four hours as panic gripped the Shri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport after a bomb hoax here today.

Air India flight number AI-170 from Gatwick Airport, London, landed at the airport with around 140 passengers on board at around 8.30 am on Monday. All passengers checked out. After departure of the passengers, the plane was parked in the hangar when the sanitation staff found a slip from one its toilets on which someone had written “bomb”. The staff immediately informed the airport officials about the slip. After this, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) teams isolated the aircraft and cordoned it off. The CISF teams checked the plane for about three hours.

The same Air India flight was supposed to leave for Gatwick Airport at 1.30 pm, but due to security checking it got delayed for over four hours and left for London around 6 pm.

A meeting of senior officers of the airport authorities, Air India staff and the CISF was held in this regard. After checking, the airport officials claimed that it was a hoax call.