An IndiGo flight from Bengaluru to Lucknow returned to Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport on the evening of Saturday 7 November 2026, after a handwritten note threatening a hijack was found in one of the aircraft's lavatories12. Flight 6E 451 had taken off from Terminal 1 at around 17:50 local time with 178 passengers on board32. After landing, the aircraft was searched at an isolation bay. The threat was declared a hoax and the flight continued to Lucknow later that night23.

A note in the lavatory, about 30 minutes after take-off

The note was found about 30 minutes into the flight, The Times of India reported, citing sources. A senior police officer told the paper that a passenger found it and alerted the cabin crew, who passed the information to the pilot3. The officer quoted the note as saying: "This plane is going to get hijacked exactly at 6.30. Ignore this and see the consequences"3. The Hindu and The New Indian Express reported that cabin crew members found the note45.

The pilot-in-command alerted air traffic control and asked for priority clearance to return to Bengaluru, Deccan Herald reported. The airport declared a full emergency as a precaution26. In a statement, IndiGo said: "In line with Standard Operating Procedure, the relevant authorities were informed immediately and the pilots decided to return to origin to carry out the necessary security checks, as per protocol"6.

Isolation bay, a 90-minute search and a hoax

After landing, the aircraft was moved to an isolation bay, where the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Bengaluru police cordoned off the area. All passengers left the aircraft2. Bomb disposal personnel and dog squads inspected the aircraft and the passengers' baggage, and the checks took around 90 minutes2. Sources at Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the airport operator, told Deccan Herald that nothing suspicious was found and that the threat was declared a hoax2. "We declared it a hoax after a thorough search lasting 90 minutes," a senior police officer told The Times of India7.

IndiGo said it was offering passengers refreshments and regular updates, and that the flight would resume only once the required clearances had been obtained6. Airport police questioned passengers to find out who wrote and placed the note1. Investigators suspect it may have been left by someone on board, NDTV reported, citing sources8.

How a crew responds to a threat on board

IndiGo's statement does not describe the crew's actions in detail. SKYbrary, the aviation safety knowledge base, publishes guidance for controllers on bomb warnings, a related type of threat. According to that guidance, the flight crew assesses the situation and, depending on the stage of flight and the aircraft's position, decides how to continue9. Controllers can expect a crew to ask to stop climbing or to descend, and to land at the nearest suitable aerodrome. Controllers should keep the runway clear, allow a long final if the crew asks for one, and never let ATC be the reason for a missed approach9. Who has the final say on board is explained in our guide to the roles of captain, first officer and second officer.

If a specific suspect item is found, the commander may decide to move it to the least-risk bomb location, usually next to an external door in the rear galley9. The crew may also decide to evacuate on the runway straight after landing, and tower controllers are advised to arrange for the aircraft to be placed away from buildings and other aircraft9. Some airports designate part of the apron for aircraft subject to unlawful interference or a suspected bomb threat, at a safe distance from critical facilities, other aircraft and terminals10.

Under the definition SKYbrary takes from ICAO Annex 17, acts of unlawful interference include the unlawful seizure of an aircraft and communicating false information that jeopardises the safety of a flight10. India's Aeronautical Information Publication says an aircraft subjected to unlawful interference shall endeavour to notify the appropriate ATS unit, and is expected to set transponder code 7500; it may use code 7700 to signal grave and imminent danger11. SKYbrary adds that a crew would only take such steps if doing so did not make the situation worse10. A recent Indian case involving code 7500 is covered in our report on the Air India flight diverted to Jaipur.

How India assesses threats

India's aviation security regulator is the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)12. Under the national Bomb Threat Contingency Plan, every airport has a designated Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) which analyses a threat and takes action12. The committee includes officials from BCAS, the CISF, local police, the airport operator and the airline, and decides whether a threat is "specific" or "non-specific"13. The plan dates from 2014 and covers bomb, sabotage and hijack threats13. When a threat is classed as specific, the aircraft is diverted and sent to an isolation bay on landing, and passengers and their belongings undergo fresh anti-sabotage checks13.

After a flood of hoax threats on social media in October 2024, BCAS issued new guidelines under which committees were also to weigh the identity and motive of the sender, whether an account is anonymous, whether the same account issued multiple threats and whether a VIP is on board13. Previously, a message that named a specific flight number was classed as specific14.

How often India sees hoax threats

According to BCAS data given to Parliament, airlines received 13 hoax bomb threats in 2022, 71 in 2023 and 728 in 2024. Another 69 followed in 2025 up to 20 July1512. Airline operators in Karnataka, the state of which Bengaluru is the capital, received 94 hoax bomb threats between 2021 and 20 July 2025, and no arrests were made in the state15.

Similar threats have been found on other recent flights in India. A day before the Bengaluru incident, the crew of IndiGo flight 6E 6091 from Delhi to Chennai reportedly found a note in the rear lavatory after pushback. The aircraft returned to the bay and the threat was declared a hoax1. In October, the words "Bomb inside aircraft" were found on a lavatory mirror of a flight from Phuket after it landed in Kolkata; nothing was found16. Europe has seen its own wave of hoax bomb threats against flights, with no device found and no claim of responsibility17.

More about the airline is on our IndiGo page. For its ab initio training route, see the IndiGo Cadet Pilot Programme and our selection practice for the programme.