Man charged with Mumbai airport bomb threat 'said Bombay' Published duration 2 January 2018

image copyright Reuters image caption Vinod Moorjani was scheduled to fly from Mumbai to Delhi on Sunday

An Indian man charged with making an airport bomb threat says he was misheard when asking about his Bombay-to-Delhi flight.

Vinod Moorjani, 45, is accused of saying "bomb hai" [there is a bomb] during a call with the authorities at Mumbai International Airport on Sunday.

But he says he was asking about the status of his "Bom-Del" flight. Mumbai was formerly known as Bombay.

Officials say Mr Moorjani made the call after becoming frustrated with delays.

An official told the news agency that he was travelling from Mumbai to Virginia with his wife and children.

"Before the operator could hear more from Moorjani, he hung up the call, after which the operator alerted her seniors, who informed the police", the official added.

But Mr Moorjani, a businessman and CEO of a US company, says he hung up because of a disturbance on the phone line.