Hijack alert on Kandahar bound flight triggers alarm at IGI

A hijack alert on a flight bound for Kandahar in Afghanistan triggered an alarm at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here on Saturday after the pilot ‘mistakenly’ pressed the ‘hijack’ button when it was taxiing for take-off. The Ariana Afghan Airlines (FG312) plane finally took off nearly two hours after the satisfactory security checks. It was scheduled to depart at 3.30 pm. The plane was carrying nine crew members and 124 passengers and an infant.

Confirming the incident, a CISF official told The Sunday Guardian that following the hijack button was pressed, search operations were conducted in the flight and it took off in 30 minutes. However, sources said it took about two hours for the flight to take off. There was panic among the passengers on board the aircraft after the incident and when the search operations were being conducted, they added.

According to another source, the plane, while taxiing for take-off, returned to the “isolation bay” presumably due to the pressing of the ‘hijack button’ by the crew. The aircraft was cleared for departure on confirmation that it was an error by the captain, he said. Pressing the hijack button prompted all the concerned agencies, including NSG, into action. The NSG commandos and officials of other agencies swiftly responded to the situation and surrounded the aircraft, he added.