Patna: Patna airport experienced a four-hour disruption on Wednesday night following a bomb scare on an Indigo flight from Bengaluru. The alarm was raised when an air hostess discovered a tissue in the plane’s bathroom with the message “Bomb 2 Our Happy Diwali” written on it. She immediately informed the flight manager and Airport Terminal Security (ATS), prompting a thorough investigation.
Indigo flight number 6E 6256, carrying 180 passengers and crew, arrived from Bengaluru at approximately 9:30 p.m. After the passengers disembarked, the flight was renumbered as 6E 6257, scheduled to depart for Bengaluru at 10:30 p.m. with 24 new passengers. During routine checks, the tissue was discovered, causing concern among airport authorities and passengers.
Airport security teams, including the ATS, CISF, dog squad, and bomb squad, were swiftly deployed to inspect the aircraft. All passengers were evacuated, and each piece of luggage was thoroughly searched. No explosives or dangerous items were found, and the flight was eventually cleared for departure at around 1:30 a.m.
This incident is part of a disturbing rise in bomb threats on flights. In the past 16 days, over 500 flights have received threats globally, creating widespread disruptions. Some of the highest daily totals occurred on October 29 (100 flights), October 28 (60 flights), and October 24 (85 flights), leading to heightened security measures and delays across multiple airports.
