Hijack scare on Kolkata-Mumbai Air India flight, plane moved to isolation bay

Following protocol, an alert was sounded immediately, and the plane was moved to the isolation bay.

A Mumbai-bound Air India Vistara flight with 147 passengers on board was taken to an isolation bay at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday morning shortly before takeoff, after the crew found a ‘hijack alert’ on a toilet mirror, airport police said.

The incident took place around 10.20 am. (Reuters file)

"The incident took place this morning. The pilot of Flight AI 772 was preparing for takeoff when the cabin crew members noticed a hijack alert written on a toilet mirror, possibly with lipstick," an airport police officer said, requesting anonymity.

Following protocol, an alert was sounded immediately, and the plane was moved to the isolation bay.

"Security, fire brigade personnel and members of the bomb squad have been deployed to search the airport as part of normal procedure. The passengers have been taken out of their aircraft," the officer added.

In a statement, the airport said: “At 1037 hrs today, a hijack note was found by the cabin crew inside the lavatory of Air India flight AI 2772 (A320, registration VT-TNH), operating on the Kolkata (CCU) – Mumbai (BOM) sector at NSCBI Airport, Kolkata. Necessary checks are currently underway by the concerned agencies as per established protocols.”