Hijack warning forces Air India aircraft into isolation

An Air India flight bound for Mumbai was moved to an isolation bay at Kolkata airport on Wednesday after a handwritten note threatening a hijacking was discovered inside an aircraft washroom shortly before departure.

All passengers were evacuated from the aircraft as security personnel launched an inspection following the discovery at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport. The flight had been scheduled to depart at 10.20am.

Kolkata airport director Vikram Singh confirmed that the note warned the aircraft would be hijacked at 11.10am, prompting authorities to activate security procedures immediately.

Singh said passengers who had already boarded were asked to disembark before the aircraft was transferred to a designated isolation area for security checks and precautionary measures.

The pilot alerted Air Traffic Control after the threat was discovered, enabling airport authorities to initiate the emergency response before the aircraft could take off.

Security personnel subsequently began examining the aircraft to determine whether the warning indicated a genuine threat. The circumstances surrounding the note’s appearance inside the washroom remained unclear.

Airport authorities had not established who wrote the message or how long it had been inside the aircraft before its discovery. There was no immediate confirmation of any suspect being identified or detained.

The incident disrupted the scheduled departure and required passengers to remain off the aircraft while security checks continued. Officials had not announced when the flight would be cleared to resume operations.

The warning specified a time approximately 50 minutes after the scheduled departure, raising immediate concerns because the aircraft would ordinarily have been airborne when the threatened hijacking was supposed to occur.

However, the message itself did not establish that any passenger intended to carry out an unlawful act. Authorities treated the warning as a potential security threat requiring investigation rather than evidence that an actual hijacking attempt had begun.

The aircraft remained under security scrutiny following its movement away from normal operational areas. Such isolation arrangements allow specialised personnel to examine an aircraft while limiting potential risks to passengers, airport workers and surrounding operations.

The evacuation also enabled security personnel to conduct their examination without passengers remaining inside the cabin. The precise nature of the inspection, including whether specialist detection equipment was deployed, was not immediately disclosed.

Officials had not confirmed whether anything suspicious beyond the threatening message had been discovered. There was also no verified information about whether investigators had recovered evidence identifying the person responsible for the warning.

The episode placed airport security arrangements under immediate operational pressure, with authorities required to address the threat while managing the disruption to passengers travelling between two major metropolitan centres.

The airline had not publicly provided a detailed account of arrangements for affected travellers, including any revised departure time or alternative flight arrangements.

Nor was there an immediate announcement concerning the number of passengers aboard the aircraft when the warning was discovered. The evacuation covered everyone who had boarded before the security alert.

The investigation was expected to establish the circumstances in which the message appeared inside the washroom, although officials had not disclosed any findings about its origin.

Determining whether the note was written by someone aboard the aircraft or placed there earlier would require evidence not contained in the initial official account. Authorities had not publicly identified a person responsible.

The distinction between a written threat and an attempted hijacking remained important. No confirmed attempt to seize control of the aircraft had been disclosed, and the security response was triggered by the warning itself.

The flight was preparing for a domestic journey from Kolkata to Mumbai when the discovery interrupted departure procedures. The alert was communicated before take-off, allowing the aircraft to remain on the ground throughout the initial response.

Airport officials also had not announced whether the incident affected other flights operating from Kolkata. The confirmed operational measures concerned the Mumbai-bound aircraft, its passengers and the inspection ordered after the warning.

No official details were immediately available about the exact wording of the message beyond its stated threat of a hijacking at 11.10am. Its discovery inside the washroom was the principal evidence disclosed by airport authorities.

Singh identified the timing of the discovery as shortly before departure, making the warning an immediate operational concern rather than a threat received well in advance of the scheduled service.

The aircraft was consequently transferred to the isolation bay for a thorough inspection and necessary precautions, while passengers remained off the plane during the security response.