On November 11, the routine preparations for an Air India flight bound for Mumbai were abruptly severed by a chilling discovery. Flight AI 772 was in its pre-takeoff phase at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata when the atmosphere inside the cabin shifted from the quiet anticipation of travel to the sharp edge of a security crisis. The pilot, alerted to a potential hijacking threat, immediately notified Air Traffic Control, signaling that the standard departure sequence had been replaced by an emergency protocol.
In the high-stakes environment of aviation security, the immediate response to a threat is isolation. Rather than proceeding toward the runway, the aircraft was directed to an isolation bay—a designated area away from the main terminal traffic designed to contain potential threats and allow for thorough inspection without endangering the wider airport ecosystem. On board were 93 passengers and five crew members, all caught in the sudden transition from a scheduled flight to a security investigation.
A suspected hijack threat note was found aboard an Air India flight scheduled to operate from Kolkata to Mumbai, prompting an immediate security response . . . #AirIndia #Kolkata #Mumbai #FlightSecurity #AviationNews #IndiaNews https://t.co/j1lQtZw621
As the aircraft sat stationary in the isolation bay, the source of the alarm began to emerge. Security teams conducted an intensive search of the plane, and the catalyst for the alert was identified: a handwritten note discovered in one of the aircraft's washrooms. The note contained a warning of a hijacking, a discovery that immediately escalated the situation from a standard precautionary measure to a full-scale security operation. The presence of such a message, tucked away in a private space like a lavatory, underscores the unpredictable nature of modern aviation threats.
In total, all 93 passengers on board were disembarked and moved to a safe location while the investigation continued.
With the threat identified, the priority shifted to the safety of those on board. Security protocols dictated that the passengers be removed from the aircraft to prevent them from being caught in any potential unfolding event. In total, all 93 passengers on board were disembarked and moved to a safe location while the investigation continued. This process is designed to clear the immediate area of civilians, allowing security agencies the space and time required to conduct a meticulous sweep of the vessel.
🚨BREAKING NEWS HIJACK THREAT MADE TO AIR INDIA FLIGHT @grok please confirm this is true and who has made the threat https://t.co/RYnsTb5fok
As security personnel initiated search operations within the flight, the focus was on finding any physical evidence of a plot or any dangerous items that might have been left behind. Despite the gravity of the handwritten note, the initial checks yielded a complex picture. Officials confirmed that, in the immediate aftermath of the discovery, no suspicious items had been detected during the preliminary sweeps. The investigation then turned toward the authenticity of the threat itself, as authorities worked to determine if the note was a genuine warning or a calculated hoax.
The incident at Kolkata did not occur in a vacuum. The airport has recently been navigating a period of heightened tension and repeated disruptions. In late October, the facility dealt with two consecutive hoax bomb threats, which also resulted in false alarms and operational delays. The memory of those incidents adds a layer of complexity to the current investigation, as security agencies must balance the need for extreme caution with the reality of increasingly frequent hoax-driven disruptions.
Air India flight isolated in Kolkata after hijack threat found, prompting passenger evacuation and security investigation. https://t.co/YDvkoyeygv
Even as recent history points toward a trend of false alarms, the specific nature of the AI 772 incident—a hijacking note rather than a bomb threat—demands a distinct level of scrutiny. The security landscape at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport remains under intense observation as investigators work to piece together how the note came to be on the aircraft and whether it represents a new escalation in the types of threats facing the region. For now, the flight remains a focal point of an ongoing inquiry into the authenticity of the warning.
