A false security alarm raised by one of the passengers left more than 150 people, scheduled to travel to Singapore, stranded at Bengaluru airport for around 14 hours on Tuesday.
Flight TR573, run by budget airline Scoot, was scheduled to depart for Singapore from Bengaluru at 1.20 am on Tuesday. The flight was delayed slightly and at 1.48 am, when the flight was just about to take off, a passenger reportedly raised an alarm, claiming he has spotted a gun in one cabin luggage. Officials at the Kempegowda International Airport confirmed the incident.
In a statement, the airport said, “A hoax security threat was made at 0148 hrs on April 23, 2019, relating to Scoot Airlines Flight TR573 (BLR – SIN). Standard security protocols and procedures were followed and no suspicious items found. A passenger was de-boarded from the flight by the CISF. The remaining passengers and baggage were also de-boarded and rescreened for security and immigration clearance.”
The flight departed at 5.23 pm because the airline had to arrange for a fresh crew for the flight, as the existing crew had already exceeded their flight time limits, due to the extended security checks.
The statement added, “A replacement aircraft and crew are being flown into Bangalore. The flight is now scheduled to depart Bengaluru to Singapore at 1620 hrs on April 23, 2019. Meanwhile, food and refreshments have been organised. During this time, there was no impact on operations at the Airport. At Bengaluru Airport, we treat all security threats very seriously and work in coordination with security agencies to ensure the safety of our passengers.”
An airline spokesperson said, “Scoot flight TR573, operating Bengaluru-Singapore, was scheduled to depart on 23 April 2019 at 1.20am local time. Due to a verbal security threat, a passenger had to be removed from the flight by airport security. All passengers were required to undergo security screening and immigration clearance again, and no suspicious items were found. As a result of the additional security procedures, flight time limits of the operating crew were exceeded.
Scoot has mounted a replacement flight from Singapore, operated by a new set of crew, to transport affected customers from Bengaluru to Singapore. The replacement flight TR573D is scheduled to depart Bengaluru on 23 April 2019 at 4.45pm local time. Refreshments are being provided to customers at the airport during the delay.”
Many passengers took to social media to complain against the airline for lack of adequate communication.
In one such tweet, one passenger said, “@flyscoot about 170 passengers are stuck in Bengaluru airport for TR573 since 1 am today. Response from your ground staff is extremely pathetic. The manager has no moral responsibility to even come and meet the passengers and hear the grievances. Today you've lost a loyal customer.”