Hijack Threat Note Found on Air India Flight at Kolkata Airport, Plane Moved to Isolation Bay

A hijack threat note found in the washroom of a Mumbai-bound Air India flight at Kolkata airport on Wednesday morning forced the aircraft into an isolation bay and set off a full security search before the plane could leave. No hijacking took place. The alert began and ended with the note, and the passengers were taken off the aircraft while security agencies checked it.

The flight was Air India AI 772, scheduled to leave Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport for Mumbai at 10:20 am. Kolkata airport director Vikram Singh, quoted by the Press Trust of India, said the note warned that the plane would be hijacked at 11:10 am. The note was found shortly before the scheduled departure, while the aircraft was still on the ground.

Passengers taken off, aircraft isolated

As soon as the note was found, the flight crew alerted Air Traffic Control. All passengers were deboarded, and the aircraft was taken to an isolation bay, away from the terminal and other planes. Security agencies then carried out a thorough check of the aircraft, PTI reported. Moving a plane to an isolation bay is the standard response to a threat of this kind. It keeps the aircraft clear of crowded areas while search teams work through the cabin, the washrooms and the hold.

The news agency IANS reported the same sequence. The pilot was informed of the threat as the flight prepared for take-off and alerted Air Traffic Control. The aircraft was shifted to an isolation bay and security personnel began search operations. At the time of that report, nothing suspicious had been detected on board.

Note spotted on a toilet mirror

Airport police gave one more detail to Ei Samay, the Times Group Bengali outlet. Officers said the message was spotted by cabin crew on a toilet mirror, possibly written with lipstick, as flight AI 772 prepared for departure at about 10:20 am. Daily Jagran reported the same flight number and the same discovery time, and said all passengers were safe.

Reports differ on how many people were on board, and no single figure is settled. Ei Samay, Daily Jagran and ABP Live put the count at 147 passengers. Khelja reported 93 passengers and five crew members. IANS, through BizzBuzz, reported 92 passengers. PTI gave no passenger count in its report. This article does not print one figure as final, because the airline and the airport have not confirmed a single number in the reports cited here.

What is confirmed, and what is not

Two news agencies, PTI and IANS, carried the alert through separate reports, and the airport director spoke on the record. What is confirmed is narrow: a threat note was found, the flight was stopped before departure, the passengers were taken off, and a search began. No suspect has been named in any of the reports, no device was reported found, and the search was still under way when the agency reports were filed. The reports do not say when the flight will now leave for Mumbai, or whether the same aircraft will operate it.