Bomb hoax grounds Spicejet flight in Nepal

A Spicejet flight that was about to leave Kathmandu for New Delhi was grounded on Sunday after a passenger allegedly claimed that a bomb was planted on the aircraft.

Flights, both incoming and outgoing, at the Tribhuwan International Airport were disrupted for over an hour due to the scare. The claim was later found to be hoax.

“Flights remained affected for close to two hours. But resumed following a thorough search of the Spicejet aircraft. The particular flight is still in Kathmandu,” said an employee of the rescue coordination centre at airport.

Spicejet’s flight SG 042 with 179 persons on board was about to take off at 10.45 am when an unidentified passenger created a commotion inside the aircraft that there was an explosive inside.

All passengers were immediately evacuated and the aircraft searched thoroughly by a bomb squad and sniffer dogs. But nothing suspicious was detected inside the aircraft.