Alliance Air Kolkata-Bilaspur flight gets hoax bomb threat

Bilaspur, Oct 24 (PTI) An Alliance Air flight from Kolkata to Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh on Thursday received a bomb threat which was found to be a hoax after an intensive search of the aircraft by authorities, officials said.

The Alliance Air in the afternoon received inputs through social media about the presence of "bombs" in its five flights. The Kolkata-Bilaspur flight was among them and when the input was received the aircraft was mid-air, Bilaspur Collector Awanish Sharan said.

After landing in Bilaspur, the flight was scheduled to leave for New Delhi via Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. After receiving information about the bomb threat from the Director of Airport Authority, Bilaspur, emergency protocols were activated, he said.

A police team along with a bomb squad immediately reached the airport. After the flight landed at the Bilasa Bai Kevtin Airport Bilaspur at around 3:30 pm, all 22 passengers were deboarded and the aircraft was thoroughly checked by technical staff and the bomb squad, said Sharan.

Luggage of all passengers was also scanned, informed the collector.

After completing the search, during which nothing suspicious was found in the plane, the bomb threat was declared a hoax and the flight departed directly for New Delhi instead of going via Prayagraj, he added. PTI COR TKP RSY