Tension gripped Lucknow’s skies as an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Bagdogra was forced into an unscheduled landing following a bomb threat call. The dramatic turn of events at Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport highlighted the persistent menace of aviation hoaxes plaguing Indian skies.
Flight 6E-2123, carrying 156 souls, was midway through its journey when air traffic control relayed the ominous warning around 8 PM. The threat, received via a landline traced to Kanpur, claimed a device was planted to obliterate the aircraft mid-air. Captain Vikram Singh, a veteran with 15 years experience, executed a textbook emergency descent, touching down safely amid blaring sirens.
Airport authorities activated full Level 3 protocols: perimeter lockdown, passenger disembarkation via emergency slides, and thorough aircraft sanitization. CISF personnel, forensic teams, and ATS sleuths descended on the scene, deploying robots and explosive sniffers. The all-clear came at 11:30 PM after exhaustive searches yielded nothing suspicious.
Eyewitnesses described heart-pounding moments: ‘We heard the announcement—everyone froze,’ recounted passenger Priya Sharma, a Siliguri resident heading home. Social media erupted with videos of passengers deplaning, fueling national discourse on flight safety.
Aviation regulators have ramped up penalties, with recent amendments imposing up to five years imprisonment for false threats. Yet, incidents persist, with 42 hoaxes reported in Q3 2024 alone, per DGCA data. Security analysts blame lax mobile verification fueling burner phones used in such crimes.
The airline compensated affected travelers with hotel stays and priority boarding. Operations normalized by midnight, though outbound flights faced minor delays. Union Home Ministry directed a multi-agency probe, exploring links to previous Kolkata and Hyderabad threats.
As the nation reflects on this close call, calls grow for AI-driven threat detection systems scanning voice patterns and call metadata in real-time. Pilots’ unions demand mandatory anti-hoax training simulations. For now, the focus remains on apprehending the culprit, whose call lasted just 12 seconds—long enough to instill widespread fear.