The passenger who instigated the bomb scare informed CISF officers that he had heard about it from someone else.
A bomb scare incident at Kolkata airport on Tuesday forced all 186 passengers off the Qatar Airways flight to Doha, according to Indian media.
A passenger, said to have mental health problems, shouted “bomb on this plane” just before the scheduled departure from India on Tuesday.
Flight QR 541 had already closed its doors and was prepared for departure when the passenger raised the false alarm about a bomb, causing panic among fellow travellers.
The cabin crew promptly alerted the pilot, who informed air traffic control (ATC) to delay the departure and notified the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) about the situation.
Crew members onboard the flight instructed all passengers to deplane to facilitate a thorough inspection of the aircraft. No devices were found on the plane, the report added, though the passenger was detained.
“Sniffer dogs and hand-held metal detectors were used to check the plane but nothing was found in the cabin or the belly,” said a CISF officer, as quoted by reports.
The flight departed approximately five and a half hours behind schedule and arrived in Doha at around 11:10 AM local time.
The passenger who instigated the bomb scare informed CISF officers that he had heard about it from someone else.
However, due to his incoherent responses and suspected mental health issues, the officers deemed his statements to be unreliable.
The father of the detained man, who was summoned to the airport, confirmed that his son was receiving medication for mental health problems.
Although he has been handed over to police at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport police station, no charges have been filed against him as they are taking into consideration his alleged mental health condition.
Doha News contacted Qatar Airways for a comment but has yet to receive a response.