Kochi: Passengers offloaded from Jet Airways flight after man heard talking about a ‘happy bomb’
The Mumbai-bound flight was delayed by two hours as the man was detained and security procedures were completed.
A Mumbai-bound Jet Airways flight at the Cochin International Airport was delayed by two hours on Monday after a passenger was allegedly overheard talking about a “happy bomb”, PTI reported. The man, identified as Clince Varghese, and another passenger accompanying him were detained by the Central Industrial Security Force.
The ground staff of Jet Airways overheard Varghese recording a video, saying that he had a “happy bomb”, The Times of India reported. The CISF offloaded all passengers, including Varghese, from 9W 825 Cochin-Mumbai flight, to complete security procedures.
Varghese’s baggage was checked thoroughly. During questioning, he said that he was “expressing happiness to his friend in Mumbai on Facebook chat”, PTI quoted an unidentified official as saying.
The airplane that was scheduled to leave at 12.05 pm ended up taking off at 2 pm, a Jet Airways’ spokesperson said. “The airline has informed the authority concerned of the same for further necessary action and has offered full cooperation as required,” the spokesperson added.