Anti-hijacking measures launched and anti-sabotage checks are being carried out

An alert has been sounded at Delhi and other major airports following an anonymous call to a Kolkata-based booking office of Air India on Saturday claiming that its Delhi-Kabul flight would be hijacked.

“We received an alert from intelligence agencies that Air India flights between Delhi and Kabul could be hijacked, following which we launched anti-hijacking measures and carried out anti-sabotage checks of the flights. While quick reaction teams have been kept on a standby, the Air India security staff has also been asked to keep a close watch on any suspicious activity,” said, an airport official.

The official said: “In view of the security situation in Afghanistan, we take extra precautionary measures for flights on Delhi-Kabul sector. Senior government functionaries visiting Kabul also take Air India flights.”

Incidentally, about two months ago, a senior Airports Authority of India (Kolkata) official had received a similar anonymous call claiming that AI flights on Mumbai-Kochi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai sectors would be targeted.