Contents of chat over mobile phones between a male passenger, travelling on a Mumbai found flight which was ready to take off, and a female passenger sitting inside the terminal building of Mangaluru International Airport created anxious moments over security, forcing the flight crew to deplane all 186 passengers for checking here on Sunday.
Finally, the domestic flight to Mumbai which was to take off here at 11 a.m. started the journey at 5 p.m. after security agencies took both the passengers into custody. An inquiry reportedly revealed that the duo, who were friends, did it for “fun” and there was no security threat.
Sources said that the Mumbai-bound flight was entering the runway from the parking area when a co-passenger sitting behind the male passenger in question noticed the chat with his (male passenger’s) female friend sitting inside the terminal building. The woman was waiting to take a flight to Bengaluru. One of the messages sent by the woman reportedly read: “Your are a bomber.” Seeing the content, the co-passenger reportedly alerted the crew who reported the matter to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and to the security agencies as there was a security threat. Immediately, the flight was made to return to the parking area and the passengers were deplaned for checking.
According to sources, the male and the female passengers in question knew each other and they were chatting casually for fun. Security agencies continued to question both of them.
The same flight to Mumbai took off in the evening without the male passenger.
No complaint had been filed in this regard till late in the evening.
