Text message containing 'bomber' creates panic in aircraft, flight delayed by 5 hours

A Mangaluru-Mumbai flight was delayed by nearly six hours when a text message of a flyer was wrongly interpreted by a co-passenger, creating confusion pertaining to security in the aircraft on Sunday.

A co-passenger apparently read a text message received by a passenger that had the word “bomber”, as the latter chatted with his friend who was waiting for her flight to Bengaluru at the Mangaluru International Airport.

The woman who read the message alerted the airline crew who in turn brought the issue to the notice of the pilot, following which the ATC was informed. The flight returned to the stand from the runway, informing passengers of a technical snag. The passenger who received the message was identified and deboarded while the aircraft was taken to the isolation bay. The hand baggage and check-in baggage of the passengers were checked thoroughly. Later, the passengers were brought back to the arrival hall and were re-boarded after following all procedures and the flight left by around 5 pm. There were 186 passengers onboard.

The male passenger on board and the female passenger could not travel to their destination and were questioned by the security agencies and the police.

Commissioner of Police N Shashi Kumar said “it was a personal chat between two friends. None have filed a complaint.”