Bomb threat strands Phuket–Kolkata flight on tarmac

A bomb threat message discovered on the washroom mirror of an IndiGo flight from Phuket to Kolkata on October 24 left 188 passengers confined to buses on the tarmac at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport for around two hours, as security teams carried out a full search of the aircraft and baggage before allowing anyone into the terminal.

Threat discovered after landing in Kolkata

According to published coverage in Indian media, IndiGo flight 6E1494, an Airbus A320neo arriving from Phuket, touched down in Kolkata at about 2.05 pm local time on Saturday, October 24, 2026. The flight was reported to be nearly full, with 188 passengers on board.

Reports indicate that the bomb threat came to light shortly after landing, when cabin crew noticed a message written on the mirror inside one of the aircraft washrooms. The wording suggested the presence of an explosive device and was treated as a specific threat under airport security protocols.

Publicly available information shows that the aircraft was directed to an isolation bay on the Kolkata apron once the threat was identified. This allowed a dedicated security team to access the jet for inspection away from other aircraft and terminal activity.

The incident unfolded as a routine international leisure flight at the end of a popular Thailand–India route suddenly transitioned into a security operation, underlining how quickly conditions can change for travelers even after touchdown.

Passengers held on tarmac during intensive checks

After landing and initial disembarkation, passengers were moved from the aircraft onto airport buses that would normally carry them to the international arrivals area. However, multiple media reports describe how the buses remained stationary on the tarmac while checks began, with passengers instructed to stay on board.

Coverage from Kolkata-based outlets notes that the wait extended for close to two hours as the plane was searched and bags were screened individually. Security procedures required every passenger to identify their checked luggage on the tarmac before it was cleared to be taken to the terminal.

Reports describe mounting discomfort among travelers, many of whom had already completed the flight from Phuket and were then unable to access terminal facilities such as washrooms, food outlets, or seating while the buses remained in place. Some passengers with onward connections reportedly saw their plans disrupted as the delay consumed much of the afternoon.

By around 4.30 pm to 4.45 pm, according to several news accounts, passengers were finally allowed to proceed into the terminal building after the aircraft and all baggage had been examined and no explosive device was found.

Second bomb scare in two days at Kolkata airport

The bomb threat on the Phuket–Kolkata flight came less than 24 hours after a separate scare inside the airport complex. On Friday, October 23, a handwritten note on a piece of tissue paper warning of a bomb near a boarding gate was discovered in a women’s washroom at the same airport.

Airport-focused coverage indicates that the earlier incident triggered an extensive sweep of the terminal, including the specified gate area, but flight operations continued and the threat was ultimately classified as a hoax. Even so, that episode had already placed security staff on heightened alert going into the weekend.

With Saturday’s message found on an arriving aircraft rather than in the terminal, Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport effectively faced two separate bomb-related incidents in two days. National outlets describe the Phuket–Kolkata threat as having prompted a more disruptive response because it directly affected an international flight and its full complement of passengers.

Publicly available information from multiple reports indicates that investigative teams are now examining passenger manifests from flight 6E1494 and reviewing CCTV footage, as well as the handwriting on the mirror message, in an effort to determine who may have written it and whether it was connected in any way to Friday’s hoax note in the terminal.

Airline operations and traveler impact on the Phuket–Kolkata route

IndiGo operates regular services between Phuket and Kolkata, linking one of Thailand’s busiest resort islands with eastern India’s primary international gateway. The route is popular with holidaymakers from Kolkata and neighboring states, as well as with Thai and international travelers connecting into eastern India.

Following the incident, published coverage indicates that the bomb threat was ultimately treated as a hoax, but not before requiring a full security response. There have been no public indications of long term disruption to IndiGo’s Phuket–Kolkata schedule, though individual passengers on the affected flight reported missed domestic connections and unexpected overnight stays in Kolkata due to the extended tarmac delay.

For travelers using this route in the coming days, no formal schedule changes have been widely reported. However, frequent flyers interviewed in earlier, unrelated security cases have often noted that additional screening or questioning can lengthen pre departure procedures when airports respond to recent scares, and similar caution may follow this episode at Kolkata.

The incident also serves as a reminder that security alerts involving written messages inside aircraft washrooms have occurred on other routes in the region in recent years, prompting diversions or emergency landings. In most such cases, investigations later classify the threats as hoaxes, but each instance still involves significant disruption for passengers and crews.

Heightened sensitivity to aviation bomb hoaxes

The Phuket–Kolkata scare adds to a wider backdrop of aviation related bomb threats affecting Indian carriers and airports over the past two years. Publicly available data referenced in national reporting highlights a notable rise in hoax threats sent via email, phone, and messages left in airport facilities or on board aircraft.

While the vast majority of these threats have not resulted in the discovery of explosive devices, aviation safety experts cited in previous coverage have consistently emphasized that airports and airlines are required to treat each incident as credible until proven otherwise. That obligation explains the extended tarmac hold for flight 6E1494’s passengers and the thorough inspection of the Airbus A320neo following the discovery of the mirror message.

For international travelers, the episode illustrates how security protocols can significantly extend journey times, even after an aircraft has landed on schedule. It also underlines why airlines and airports repeatedly warn against any jokes or written remarks related to bombs or weapons, given the severe legal and operational consequences that can follow.

As investigations continue into who wrote the message on the Phuket–Kolkata flight, the case is expected to feed into ongoing discussions about penalties for hoax threats and the resources required to respond to them, both in India and across the wider region’s busy leisure travel corridors.