more-inA Kolkata-bound Air India plane with 259 persons, including four MPs and a West Bengal Minister, was on Wednesday grounded minutes before take-off from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here following a threat which turned out to be a hoax, officials said. The caller claimed that the Delhi-Kolkata flight AI-020 “will be shot down in the air [aasmaan mein gira diya jayega],” they said. The plane was taken to an isolation bay, and canine and bomb detection squads of the CISF and other security agencies took over. The security agencies gave clearance to the aircraft but the airline is still examining the plane, they said. “A new aircraft was provided for travel of 242 passengers, along with four MPs and a Minister in the West Bengal government.

Source: The Hindu March 28, 2018 20:12 UTC