All passengers traveling on a scheduled IndiGo Airlines flight from Delhi to Varanasi were evacuated just before takeoff after a note was found in a toilet stating there was a bomb onboard the aircraft.
The flight carrying flight number 6E2211 was preparing to depart from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) on May 28, 2024, bound for Varanasi Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (VNS) when a note was discovered hidden in one of the aircraft’s toilets.
According to reports, the note included the words, “bomb blast @ 30 minutes”. The crew informed the pilots of the discovery who immediately ordered the 176 passengers onboard to evacuate the Airbus A320 aircraft using the emergency escape slides.
Video footage posted online of the evacuation shows the aircraft on the airport tarmac at sunrise, with all aircraft exit doors open and emergency slides deployed. Passengers can be seen leaving the aircraft, and the footage ends by showing a crew member assisting an elderly passenger across the top of the wing while later, one of the pilots exits using the forward escape slide.
All passengers were safely evacuated from the plane, which was subsequently removed to a designated ‘isolation’ area at the airport where it underwent a thorough search by the authorities. It is understood that no explosive device was found onboard the plane. According to data obtained from Flightradar24, the aircraft is due to operate a rotation to Ahmedabad (AMD) followed by a return trip to Kolkata (CCU) later in the day, albeit carrying a two-hour delay following the search process
An investigation is now reportedly underway into the incident which appears to have been handled professionally and following standard procedures by the crew operating the flight. No injuries were reported following the evacuation.
The aircraft involved is registered 9H-SLH and is an Airbus A320-200 operated by SmartLynx Malta Airlines under a wet lease agreement with IndiGo Airlines. This aircraft is 16.3 years old, having originally been delivered to Saudi Arabia’s Flynas in March 2008. It was acquired by SmartLynx Malta in May 2021 and is leased from AerCap.
