Air India AI2772 Delayed Over Seven Hours by Hijack Hoax

Air India flight AI2772 left Kolkata more than seven hours late on November 11, 2026, after a hijack threat forced all 105 passengers off the aircraft. Security teams isolated and searched the Airbus A320 before clearing it to fly to Mumbai. Airport authorities later declared the threat a hoax.

Hijack warning found aboard Air India AI2772 in Kolkata

Cabin crew found a threatening message inside an aircraft lavatory at 10:37 a.m. India Standard Time. In a statement reported by the Hindustan Times, Kolkata airport identified the aircraft as an Airbus A320 registered VT-TNH.

According to airport director Vikram Singh, the message threatened a hijacking at 11:10 a.m. Singh’s account was carried by Press Trust of India. The flight was scheduled to leave Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at about 10:20 a.m.

Although the departure time had already passed when the crew found the warning, authorities treated the message as a security threat. They removed every passenger and moved the jet to an isolation bay, away from normal airport activity.

105 passengers evacuated as security teams searched the A320

Security personnel inspected the aircraft and checked baggage before allowing operations to resume. Meanwhile, the 105 passengers could not continue their journey while the aircraft remained isolated.

The checks found no credible threat, according to The New Indian Express, citing airport authorities. Officials subsequently described the warning as a hoax.

As a result, a domestic flight that should have departed in the morning remained grounded until late afternoon. The security response also required an isolated parking position and screening resources. Airport officials did not report a verified count of other flights affected.

Air India flight departs at 5:38 p.m. after seven-hour delay

Airport authorities confirmed that AI2772 took off for Mumbai at 5:38 p.m. local time, or 7:08 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. Compared with the reported 10:20 a.m. schedule, the departure was seven hours and 18 minutes late.

For passengers, the documented impact was an evacuation, security screening and a prolonged delay before departure. However, the available statements did not establish missed connections, compensation decisions or individual travel arrangements.

The aircraft was still at Kolkata when the threat surfaced. Therefore, this was a delayed departure, not an in-flight hijacking or diversion.

Who left the hijack warning remains unknown

Declaring the warning a hoax resolved the immediate security alert. It did not establish who wrote the message or why. No arrest or completed investigation was confirmed in the reports reviewed on November 11.

Reports also differed about whether the warning was written on a mirror or left as a note. The airport’s statement confirmed only that crew discovered it inside the lavatory. That narrower description avoids presenting an unsettled detail as fact.

The case is separate from Air India’s earlier AI2030 false hijack alert, which involved a different flight. AeroSillage also reported a bomb claim aboard United flight UA2174 in the United States. Neither incident establishes who was responsible in Kolkata.