An unidentified caller phoned Mumbai airport on Saturday morning claiming that a bomb would explode on the premises within the next 12 hours, prompting an evacuation and a thorough search.
Airport and police authorities described the threat as “non-specific” since the caller, who phoned around 11am, did not give any particulars.
“Under the circumstances following the attack in Pulwama and escalation of tension with Pakistan, we did not take the call lightly and the premises were evacuated,” a spokesperson for Mumbai airport said.
The caller is yet to be identified.
The call was made to Terminal 2, which handles all the international flights and a few domestic ones.
The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee held a meeting after the threat call and decided to evacuate the Terminal 2 level 4, airline offices on level 3 and the “meeters and greeters” area on level 2, an airport source said.
The threat call and the evacuation had no impact on operations as the runway is closed till 5pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for repairs. The repair work is likely to continue till March 30.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued a note for airports, airlines and other aviation companies across the country to enhance the existing security system “in view of the intelligence input in the aftermath of (the) Pulwama attack and subsequent developments”.
The BCAS has instructed strict access control to terminals and apron areas, enhanced screening of passengers, bags and cargo and intensive frisking of vehicles entering airports and those operating inside the terminal as part of its 20-point note.
