Mumbai-bound flight delayed after flyer raises alarm over co-passenger’s text message

A couple was detained and questioned for hours on Sunday at the Mangalore airport after a co-passenger, having peeked into the man’s phone to read private texts between the two, raised an alarm before the word “bomber” was mentioned in their conversation

A couple was detained and questioned for hours on Sunday at the Mangalore airport after a co-passenger, having peeked into the man’s phone to read private texts between the two, raised an alarm before the word “bomber” was mentioned in their conversation.

An aircraft operated by IndiGo, a unit of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., lands at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India, on Monday, July 25, 2022. InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., is scheduled to release earnings figures on July 27, 2022. Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg (Bloomberg)

The man was on IndiGo’s flight 6E-5327, headed to Mumbai, while his partner was scheduled to board a different flight to Bengaluru when the man’s co-passenger on the plane raised an alarm.

“A female passenger glanced at her co-passenger’s phone and panicked after reading the word bomber while he was chatting with his female friend. She approached the staff and the aircraft had to be taken to the isolation bay of the airport for further enquiries,” a Mangalore airport official said, asking not to be named.

The plane was held up for over five hours on Sunday and the man and his partner were taken in for questioning.

“The young woman texted the young man on the plane, writing ‘you are a bomber’,” said a second official aware of the matter, adding that the duo was detained after the woman who saw the message approached the flight crew, who then reported the matter to airport security. The couple was let off later in the afternoon without any charges.

IndiGo did not comment on the matter.

The flight, with 185 passengers on board, was supposed to take off for Mumbai around 10.45am but eventually departed around 6.15pm.

“The pilot, as per protocol, informed the air traffic control and the aircraft had to be taken to the isolation bay for further checks,” the first official said.

As per safety protocols, the airline disembarked passengers, after which they were frisked and their luggage were checked thoroughly before they could board again. The male passenger was taken off the flight. His friend, too, could not take her flight, airport officials said.