Kerala man makes bomb threat after airline refuses to reschedule his flight

The call was made after the airline had refused to issue the man ticket for a later date. He made the request as his daughter was ill, police said

A passenger on the Kochi - London Gatwick Air India flight was booked on Tuesday for issuing a bomb threat, which turned out to be a hoax, on the aircraft, officers familiar with the matter said.

The flight was bound from Kochi to London (AFP)

An officer of the Nedumbassery police in Kochi said the accused, identified as Shuhaib (30), a resident of Kondotty in Malappuram, was scheduled to take the AI 149 flight to London with his wife and daughter on Tuesday.

“We found that he had made the bomb threat during a call to the Air India customer care centre in Mumbai late Monday night. From what we understood, his daughter had suffered food poisoning and was unwell. So he asked the airline to reschedule the ticket for another day, which was denied. So perhaps due to frustration, he alleged that a bomb was planted on the aircraft,” said a police officer who did not want to be named.

The threat was relayed to the officials at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) and a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) was immediately convened. Upon investigation by the airline, it was found that the caller in fact was a passenger on the flight to London.

“The aircraft was moved to an isolated parking point and comprehensive security measures were undertaken. The aircraft was thoroughly checked and subsequently cleared for take-off. The check-in process for AI 149 was completed by 10:30 am and the flight departed at 1:25 pm,” the airport said in a statement.

The accused has been booked under sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and 118(b) (knowingly spreads rumours or gives false alarms to mislead police, fire force etc) and 120(o) (penalty for causing nuisance and violation of public order) of the Kerala Police Act.