Kolkata: A hijack threat forced a Mumbai-bound Air India flight to abort take-off on Wednesday morning, triggering a full security drill and delaying departure by over seven hours.Flight AI 2772, carrying 105 passengers, was scheduled to depart Kolkata at 10.20am. It finally took off at 5.38pm after passengers, baggage and the aircraft were screened again.The threat was found in a cryptic note inside the aircraft lavatory. It read: “Flight AI 2772 will may be hijacking 11:11.” A cabin crew member discovered it at 10.37 am, when the aircraft was at the holding point, minutes from entering the runway for takeoff. Had the flight departed on time, it would have had to return to Kolkata.The note led to immediate activation of the hijack protocol. The aircraft aborted departure, made a U-turn and was sent to the isolation bay. Passengers were asked to deplane with their hand baggage, while checked-in luggage was offloaded for identification and screening.“According to protocol, passengers were asked to alight with their hand luggage. The registered luggage was also offloaded and passengers were asked to identify it. The flyers were then taken to the terminal building, where they underwent frisking and their hand luggage was X-rayed again. The registered luggage was also brought to the terminal for repeat X-ray checks. At the isolation bay, the aircraft cabin was thoroughly checked. When nothing was found, the aircraft, crew and passengers were cleared,” an airport official said.Officials said it was unclear whether “11:11” in the note referred to the time — 11.11 am — or the date — Nov 11. Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is examining the note and probing the repeated discovery of such threats in aircraft lavatories.This is the fourth security threat involving flights at Kolkata airport since Sept 4. In the first case, a Kolkata-Gorakhpur flight with 185 passengers was grounded after a crew member found a bomb threat in the aircraft lavatory. On Oct 8, a bomb threat email triggered a major security alert and additional checks. On Oct 23, a handwritten note near a women’s washroom claimed a bomb had been planted at the entry gate, prompting another round of heightened checks.“We have asked BCAS to review what can be done to prevent such incidents from recurring,” the airport official said.
