IndiGo Airlines Offloads Passenger at Chennai Airport After he Shouts ‘Bomb’

The incident took place at 7:30 PM on Tuesday at the Chennai Airport during the Secondary Ladder Point Security (SLPC) of the Indigo flight of the Indigo flight 6E-582 which was scheduled for Cochin to Bhubaneswar.

Chennai: IndiGo Airlines on Wednesday offloaded a passenger after he loudly shouted the word ‘bomb’ at the Chennai Airport. The man named Alex Mathew, a resident of Kerala’s Pathanamthitta, reportedly told the airline staff, “Am I carrying a bomb in my bag?”

The incident took place at 7:30 PM on Tuesday at the Chennai Airport during the Secondary Ladder Point Security (SLPC) of the Indigo flight 6E-582 which was scheduled from Cochin to Bhubaneswar. The SLPC, a check done by the airline officials about the time when the passengers are required to board the aircraft, includes a final checking of the passengers and their belongings once the compulsory checks are conducted by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The SLPC check is the last round of checking which also involves the inspection of the hand baggage at the boarding point.

Following the incident, a Quick Response Team, Dog Squad and Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad reached the spot and inspected the man’s baggage. Once the checking was completed, it was declared a non-specific call as nothing suspicious was found. Thereafter, the man was taken off from the flight and handed over to the local cops as per security protocol for further action.

On March 2, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued security guidelines for airports, airlines and other aviation companies in the wake of the heightened tension between India and Pakistan. Some of these measures included strict access control to the terminal, apron areas; enhanced screening of passengers, bags, cargo; intensive check on vehicles entering airports, terminal buildings etc.