A disgruntled and possibly inebriated former airline worker called in a bomb threat to Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore on Friday, May 20th. The threat prompted authorities to dispatch Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel to the airport to conduct a search of the facility.

During the early hours of the morning

According to The Times of India, the hoax was called in around 03:50 on May 19th to Bengaluru's city police helpline - 112. The possibly intoxicated caller told authorities that a bag containing explosives was located somewhere within the airport.

This led CISF personnel to conduct a search of the airport for about an hour for the reported bag. Despite being called in at around 03:50, this could have indeed impacted thousands of travelers, as Kempegowda operates around the clock.

Indeed, several long-haul flights depart the Indian city around this time, with Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, and Emirates among the airlines with services taking off during these early hours. However, searching flight data for this day, it doesn't appear that any flights suffered any noticeable delays as a result of the hoax, departing on time as scheduled.

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Kempegowda International Airport is the main airport serving Bangalore. Photo: Ank Kumar via Wikimedia Commons

Phone call tracked to former airline worker

Tracing the phone call, airport police were led to Subhashish Gupta, a former employee who reportedly worked with cargo at the airport for an undisclosed airline.

It was ascertained that the 32-year-old Gupta had falsely informed police about explosives at the airport in a bold attempt to frame and incriminate his (now former) brother-in-law, who had recently divorced his sister. Telling authorities during his initial hoax call that his name was that of his brother-in-law's, Gupta confessed his plan to police after he was arrested. While the offender had provided a false name, he had foolishly used his own phone to call in the threat - this was likely a result of being in a deep state of inebriation.

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Gupta was reportedly fired from his job at Kempegowda airport three months ago after allegedly showing up to work in a drunken state. Police have stated that Gupta is facing charges of creating panic among the public.

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The incident targeted Bangalore's airport. Photo: Getty Images

Hoax caller's airline undisclosed

Investigations note that while Gupta worked at the airport, his former employee was a specific airline. However, the name of the airline was not made public.

Dozens of airlines operate out of Kempegowda International. When it comes to domestic airlines, carriers include (but are not limited to) AirAsia, Go First, IndiGo, Spicejet, Vistara, and Air India. International airlines serving this airport include carriers from Europe, East, and Southeast Asia, as well as the Middle East. Ethiopian Airlines appears to be the only African carrier with service to the city.

Many of the airlines - both domestic and international, also operate cargo services from the airport. Additionally, FedEx, DHL, and AeroLogic are among the non-passenger firms with cargo operations at Bangaluru.

What do you think of this incident? Have you ever had your travels disrupted by a hoax or bomb threat? Share your experiences by leaving a comment.

Source: Times of India