Jet Airways flight 9W-821 to Chennai, scheduled to take off at 6.45 am from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Monday, was grounded after a passenger allegedly claimed he was carrying a "bomb" and will "blow up" the aircraft, sources in the CISF said today.
The businessman, who had been subjected twice to security checks, got exasperated when asked to open his bag for the third time.
The personnel of Special Protection Group (SPG), which provides security to the Prime Minister, former prime ministers and their immediate family, overheard the conversation. The airline staff and SPG then informed the control room about it.
Not taking the threat lightly, "a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) was formed to assess the threat perception. All the passengers, cargo and baggage were deplaned and a thorough search was carried out," sources in the Central Industrial Security Force, which guards the airport, said. The claim later turned out to be a hoax.
At around 7.25 am, the threat was declared as "non-specific", they said.
"The passenger was taken to police station for intense questioning by the city police and other security agencies. He was let off in evening after the authorities became sure he posed no threat," sources said.
