From Delhi to Chennai, Several Airports on High Alert After Receiving Bomb Threats Via Email

Airports across India, including Delhi and Chennai, are on high alert after several received bomb threats via email on Tuesday. Airports in New Delhi, Chennai, Patna, Jaipur, Vadodara and Coimbatore were searched while police and CISF increased the security cover.

The office of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport received the bomb threat email at 9.35 am. It stated that there was a bomb inside a Dubai-bound aircraft. The mail, however, had no details about the airline or the flight number.

Police said the sender of the email sent a similar bomb threat to several other airports in the country around 12.40 pm.

Officials at the Chennai airport said upon receiving the bomb threat, security agencies conducted a thorough search of a Dubai-bound Emirates flight carrying 286 passengers but this turned out to be a hoax. The plane, scheduled to depart around 9.50 am, got delayed by two hours.

Authorities at the Patna airport received a bomb threat by email, following which a thorough search of the facility was conducted and security beefed up. However, this mail also turned out to be a hoax, officials said.

“A bomb threat through email was received at the Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport, besides 41 other airports. The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) Meeting was convened… and it found the threat to be non-specific,” airport director Anchal Prakash said, adding further follow-up actions are in process.

“The email, which was received around 1.10 pm, contained a bomb threat. Security has been bolstered at the airport in the wake of the development,” a senior police officer said.

“We are trying to trace the source of the email and the sender,” he added.

Security agencies jointly conducted a thorough investigation at the Jaipur airport after it received a bomb threat. Police and CISF searched the premises after the airport management received a bomb threat via email.

“The airport was thoroughly checked but nothing suspicious has been found so far,” the police said.

Security was also heightened at the Vadodara airport after the airport authorities received the bomb threat email.

“Confidential information was received after which teams of police have been formed to take care of the security arrangements at the airport. The bomb disposal squad and dog squads, ambulance, fire tenders have also reached the airport…” said inspector RD Chauhan from the Harni police station.

The Coimbatore airport in Tamil Nadu also received a bomb threat via email, following which all staff were put on high alert, said airport director V Senthil Valavan.

Airport authorities received similar threats in April. Earlier in the day, a private college also got a bomb blast threat that turned out to be a hoax.

(With PTI inputs)