Two back-to-back bomb threats targeting IndiGo flights connected to Kolkata on Saturday, February 14, 2026, sent shockwaves through passengers and aviation authorities alike. In the span of a single day, a Shillong-bound flight from Kolkata and a Dibrugarh to Kolkata service both triggered full-scale emergency responses after threatening messages were discovered inside aircraft lavatories. Both threats were later declared hoaxes, yet the lipstick scrawl and handwritten notes that set off the chain of events have raised renewed questions about aviation security, passenger screening and the human cost of such scares, even when no explosive is found.
Two Threats in One Day at Kolkata Airport
The day of disruptions began at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Saturday morning, when an IndiGo flight preparing to depart for Shillong was abruptly halted after a bomb threat note was discovered. The aircraft, operating as IndiGo flight 6E 7304 according to multiple officials, had completed boarding preparations and was minutes away from departure when a crew member found a slip of paper in the lavatory claiming that a bomb was on board.
Authorities immediately triggered the airport’s emergency protocols. Passengers were swiftly evacuated onto the tarmac and transported back to the terminal, while the aircraft was towed to an isolation bay away from other planes and infrastructure. Security agencies conducted an intensive sweep of the cabin, cargo holds and baggage, while the flight remained grounded under heavy security presence.
As operations slowly began to normalize at the airport after the morning shock, a second and even more unsettling scare emerged hours later, this time involving a flight already in the air. IndiGo flight 6E 6894, an Airbus A320 traveling from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kolkata, became the focus of an in-flight emergency when a bomb threat message, this one reportedly written with lipstick on a surface inside the aircraft toilet, was discovered mid-journey.
With two bomb scares linked to Kolkata on the same day, aviation authorities were forced to respond to a rolling crisis that tested emergency preparedness in the air and on the ground, even as they sought to reassure a nervous traveling public that the skies remained safe.
Morning Panic on the Kolkata to Shillong IndiGo Flight
The first incident unfolded around the scheduled 9:05 to 9:15 a.m. departure window for the Kolkata to Shillong service. During boarding, a cabin crew member entered the aircraft lavatory and noticed a threatening message on a piece of paper. The note explicitly stated that a bomb was present on the aircraft, immediately elevating what had been a routine regional flight into a potential security emergency.
Airport officials say the discovery occurred shortly before the doors were to be closed, with many passengers already seated and carry-on baggage stowed. Once the alarm was raised, pilots and ground staff coordinated rapidly with the airport’s Bomb Threat Assessment Committee and security agencies. The decision was taken to halt departure, power down the aircraft and move it to an isolation bay situated at a safer distance from the terminal and other jets.
Passengers, including families headed to Meghalaya and business travelers bound for the hill city, were instructed to leave their seats and deboard the aircraft with all personal belongings. Many remained unaware of the precise nature of the threat at the time, though the sight of emergency vehicles and security personnel clustering around the aircraft left little doubt that something serious had occurred.
The incident triggered a ripple of delays across a busy morning schedule at Kolkata airport, as ground staff juggled the need for heightened security checks with the demands of regular operations. While authorities did not close the airport outright, priority was clearly given to ensuring that the IndiGo aircraft and its passengers were secured before any further steps were taken.
Lipstick Message Triggers Mid-Air Scare on the Dibrugarh Flight
Just as the morning shock was subsiding, the second scare of the day unfolded aboard the Dibrugarh to Kolkata flight. The IndiGo A320, operating as flight 6E 6894, had already taken off from Dibrugarh and was en route to Kolkata when a disturbing discovery was made in one of the aircraft’s washrooms. A bomb threat message, reportedly written using lipstick, was found scrawled inside the lavatory, indicating that an explosive device might be on board.
Cabin crew immediately informed the cockpit, and the pilots declared a security emergency while coordinating with Kolkata air traffic control. Passengers remained in their seats as the aircraft continued toward its planned destination under restricted procedures, with crew members maintaining calm in the cabin even as they followed aviation security protocols in the background.
The flight landed safely in Kolkata at around 7:37 p.m., according to officials, and was directed straight to an isolation bay rather than to a regular passenger gate. Fire tenders, security teams and bomb disposal experts were ready on the ground as the aircraft came to a halt.
All passengers were deboarded in a controlled manner and moved away from the aircraft while security teams boarded the plane to conduct a thorough search. The lipstick message, which investigators believe may have been written to maximize shock value and fear, is now a key piece of evidence as authorities work to identify who was responsible for planting the threat.
Emergency Response and Passenger Evacuation Procedures
In both incidents, aviation and security authorities followed a well-rehearsed script designed to prioritize passenger safety while minimizing unnecessary panic. Once the threats were reported, Bomb Threat Assessment Committees and airport security teams moved quickly to classify the threat level and activate Standard Operating Procedures that dictate how aircraft and passengers should be handled under potential bomb scenarios.
On the ground in Kolkata, this meant towing the concerned aircraft to isolation bays, safe distances from the main terminal and fuel farms, and evacuating everyone on board. Passengers were instructed to leave the aircraft with their hand baggage, undergo additional screening and await further instructions, often without being told all the details to avoid raising alarm.
For the Dibrugarh to Kolkata flight already in the air, the balance between calm and caution was even more delicate. Pilots and crew must weigh the risks of diverting to the nearest suitable airport against the benefits of proceeding to a destination fully equipped for an emergency response. In Saturday evening’s case, the decision to continue to Kolkata under secure protocols allowed authorities there to prepare a comprehensive response by the time the aircraft touched down.
Across both cases, airport authorities stressed that there were no injuries to passengers or crew. Yet the disruption, confusion and anxiety associated with such threats serve as stark reminders that even hoaxes can inflict a heavy psychological burden on those caught in the middle.
Hoax Confirmed, But Questions Mount Over Motive and Security
After exhaustive inspections of both aircraft, officials confirmed that no explosives or suspicious items were found in either case. The bomb threat linked to the Kolkata to Shillong flight was declared a hoax, and the aircraft was cleared to depart later in the day, eventually taking off for Shillong around 1:30 p.m. following a delay of several hours.
The Dibrugarh to Kolkata flight underwent similarly extensive checks once it was parked in the isolation bay. Security agencies combed through the cabin and baggage, while bomb disposal teams examined key areas of the aircraft. All passengers were screened again as a precaution. As with the morning incident, no device or hazardous material was discovered, and the threat was ultimately labeled a false alarm.
Authorities are now treating both cases as serious criminal matters despite the absence of actual explosives. Investigations have been launched to determine who wrote the notes and lipstick message, when they were placed in the lavatories and whether the two incidents are connected or represent separate acts of mischief or malice.
Under Indian law and international aviation regulations, making a bomb threat against an aircraft is a grave offense, carrying potential prison terms and heavy fines. Investigators will be reviewing passenger manifests, CCTV footage from airports, and interview records from crew and ground staff in an effort to identify suspects and understand whether the hoaxes were spur-of-the-moment pranks or part of a more disturbing pattern.
Impact on Passengers and Operations at Kolkata Airport
For travelers, the effects of Saturday’s pair of scares were immediate and unsettling. Passengers on the Kolkata to Shillong flight found themselves unexpectedly removed from the aircraft and transported back to the terminal, facing long waits and uncertain departure times. Several connecting itineraries were disrupted, while relatives waiting at destination airports grappled with delayed arrival updates and sketchy early information about the cause.
On the Dibrugarh to Kolkata flight, the atmosphere inside the cabin reportedly shifted from routine to tense once passengers realized that something was wrong. Although crew members kept formal announcements vague during the flight to avoid panic, many travelers pieced together that a security issue was unfolding as they noticed changes in crew behavior and the sight of emergency vehicles lining up near their parking position on arrival.
At Kolkata airport, the operational impact extended beyond the two affected flights. Ground staff had to reassign bays, manage delayed rotations of aircraft and crews, and coordinate with security agencies as checks expanded to baggage belts and boarding areas. While most other flights continued operating, some delays and gate changes were reported as the airport prioritized resources for the emergency response.
The dual incidents also heightened anxiety among airport workers and airline staff, many of whom have become accustomed to regular security drills but rarely face multiple live threats on the same day. For them, as much as for passengers, the hoax nature of the threats provided relief, but did little to soften the memory of the hours spent operating under the assumption that a real bomb might be involved.
Aviation Security Under the Spotlight Once Again
The Kolkata scares are the latest in a series of bomb threat incidents affecting Indian carriers and airports in recent months, part of a global trend in which prank calls, anonymous messages and scribbled notes can lead to large-scale responses. Airport officials and aviation experts note that security protocols are deliberately designed to treat every threat as credible until proven otherwise, even at the cost of disruption and expense.
In the case of Saturday’s incidents, the fact that both threatening messages were found in aircraft lavatories has prompted renewed discussion about how such spaces can be monitored or secured without compromising passenger privacy. Standard practice involves frequent lavatory checks by crew, yet the ability of any individual passenger to enter the space unobserved for a short period means that notes, graffiti or even mock devices can be placed with relative ease.
Security analysts argue that while enhanced surveillance and behavioral monitoring can help deter some threats, a determined individual can still succeed in planting a hoax that will have to be taken seriously. As a result, much of the focus is likely to fall on improving investigative capabilities and legal consequences, making it more likely that perpetrators are caught and prosecuted swiftly.
Airlines and regulators are also expected to revisit training programs for crew and ground staff to ensure that procedures for handling threats remain current and effective. The Kolkata incidents, involving both a pre-departure scare and a mid-air discovery, offer real-world case studies that will likely be dissected in detail during future security briefings and simulations.
What Comes Next for Flyers and Authorities
For travelers passing through Kolkata and other major Indian airports in the coming days, a visible tightening of security measures is almost certain. Passengers may encounter more frequent baggage checks, additional questioning at boarding gates and a heightened presence of uniformed and plainclothes security personnel in terminals and around aircraft stands.
Authorities are expected to issue advisories reinforcing that bomb threats are not victimless pranks but serious crimes that endanger lives, disrupt critical infrastructure and sap public confidence in air travel. Airlines, including IndiGo, are likely to step up their messaging as well, reminding customers that any threatening statement, even in jest, can trigger police involvement and legal action.
Investigators will continue to examine whether the morning and evening threats share any common origin, from passenger overlaps to stylistic similarities in the wording of the notes. The lipstick message on the Dibrugarh flight in particular has attracted attention for its dramatic and theatrical nature, suggesting that the perpetrator may have intended not only to disrupt a single flight but to create broader headlines.
For now, the most important takeaway for passengers is that both aircraft landed safely, all travelers and crew were unharmed, and the systems in place to respond to potential threats worked as designed. Yet the twin scares at Kolkata airport on February 14 serve as a sobering reminder that even on routine domestic routes, the perception of danger can materialize in an instant, and that hoaxes can cast shadows as long as any real threat.