Passenger arrested for bomb threat at airport

The Nedumbassery police late on Wednesday arrested a Coimbatore native for threatening the security officials at Cochin International Airport Limited of bringing a bomb to the airport here.

According to the police, the passenger, identified as Manoraharan, was bound to board a flight to Malaysia along with a group of 40 others. While inspecting their baggage, the person, under the influence of alcohol, entered into an altercation with the security staff.

“Manoharan was apparently irritated by the delay in baggage screening and told the staff at check-in counter that his baggage contained a time-bomb. Following this, the check-in staff immediately alerted the CISF personnel who moved the baggage from the spot for checking,” the police said.

The incident took place around 8.30 pm on Wednesday after Manoharan and his team had arrived at the airport by road from Coimbatore.

They had reserved tickets on the Malindo Air flight, which was scheduled to leave for Kuala Lumpur at 11.35 p.m.

Tense moments

Meanwhile, the threat triggered panic at the airport as it was already on high alert in view of the arrival of Union Finance minister Arun Jaitley.

Later, the CISF handed the person to the local police, who subjected him for a detailed interrogation.