Air India Flight Grounded in Kolkata After Hoax Hijack Note Found

An Air India commercial flight preparing to depart Kolkata for Mumbai was grounded for more than seven hours on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, after cabin crew discovered a handwritten hijack threat note inside an onboard lavatory. The security scare prompted an immediate multi-agency emergency response, the evacuation of all passengers and crew, and exhaustive bomb squad sweeps before authorities confirmed the threat was a hoax and apprehended the passenger responsible.

Flight AI 2772, operated by an Airbus A320 registered as VT-TNH, was scheduled to depart Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata at approximately 10:30 local time bound for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. At roughly 10:37 local time, as final pre-departure preparations were concluding, a flight attendant discovered a handwritten message left in the forward washroom. The note warned that the aircraft was targeted and would be hijacked at 11:10 local time.

Emergency Response and Evacuation

In accordance with civil aviation security protocols, the flight crew alerted Kolkata Air Traffic Control immediately upon finding the threat note. Airport security agencies, the Central Industrial Security Force, and the airport bomb threat assessment committee were mobilized without delay. Air traffic controllers directed the aircraft to vacate the active apron and taxi under escort to an isolated bay away from the passenger terminals.

All 105 passengers aboard the Airbus A320 were disembarked alongside the seven crew members, with the crew deplaning separately to facilitate security interviews. Specialized bomb detection and disposal squads, accompanied by sniffer dog units and anti-sabotage personnel, surrounded the aircraft to initiate systematic screening procedures. Ground teams cordoned off the taxiway approaches while terminal operations continued under heightened vigilance.

Security Sweeps and Investigation

Security teams executed a comprehensive, multi-layer inspection of the entire airframe, checking overhead storage bins, cargo compartments, avionics bays, and service galleys. Simultaneously, ground handlers unloaded all registered baggage and cargo shipments, subjecting every piece of luggage to secondary X-ray screening and physical trace detection.

During the operational shutdown, forensic investigators and airport police questioned passengers and collected voluntary handwriting samples to identify the author of the note. Investigators noticed a distinctive circular impression on the threat slip that matched the physical dimensions and wear pattern of an embossed button on a passenger's wallet. When confronted with the physical evidence, a 56-year-old passenger identified as Partha Pratim Nandi, a resident of Sodepur in the Kolkata area, confessed to authoring and planting the note.

Passenger Arrest and Motive

According to investigating officers, the passenger was traveling on the domestic sector to Mumbai to board a connecting international flight for an overseas job assignment in South Africa. The suspect and his wife were both undergoing medical treatment for cancer. Reluctant to leave his ailing wife alone and having had his request to cancel the assignment declined by his prospective employer, the passenger fabricated the hijack note in an attempt to force the flight's cancellation.

Authorities formally detained the individual and transferred him to the custody of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Police Station for criminal charges related to aviation endangerment and making false security threats. The Airports Authority of India confirmed the arrest the following day.

Operational Recovery and Flight Path

Following the conclusion of all security and explosive sweeps, airport authorities and the security committee formally declared the threat a hoax and recertified the airframe for flight. Ground crews reloaded the cleared luggage and reboarded the remaining passengers.

Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows that the Airbus A320 departed Kolkata at 12:08 UTC (17:38 local time), operating nearly seven hours behind its original schedule. The flight climbed to a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet, completing the domestic sector across central India in two hours and 44 minutes before landing safely in Mumbai at 14:52 UTC. Air India confirmed that all passengers completed their journey safely, while reinforcing that false security threats incur severe legal penalties and lifetime flight bans.