IndiGo 6E451 Turns Back to Bengaluru After a Hijack Note Is Found in the Lavatory

IndiGo flight 6E451 from Bengaluru to Lucknow returned to Bengaluru on the evening of Saturday, November 7, 2026, after a handwritten note threatening a hijacking was found in one of the aircraft’s lavatories. A full emergency was declared at Kempegowda International Airport’s Terminal 1 for the jet’s return, ANI reported.

The flight was carrying 178 passengers and had left Terminal 1 at about 5:50 p.m., according to Deccan Herald. Security teams searched the aircraft on the ground, and airport sources said nothing suspicious was found.

What was found and when

About 30 minutes into the flight, a passenger who went into the lavatory spotted the note and alerted the cabin crew, Deccan Herald reported, while ANI’s account says crew members detected it. The pilots then turned the aircraft back toward Bengaluru.

Deccan Herald quoted the note as reading: “This flight is going to be hijacked exactly at 6.30. Ignore this and see the consequences.” Other outlets quote slightly different wording.

The note, as quoted, does not say morning or evening, and at least one outlet read it as 6:30 a.m. With a 5:50 p.m. departure and a find about half an hour later, an evening 6:30 would have been only minutes away when the crew learned of it.

After landing, the aircraft was moved to an isolated bay. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Bengaluru police cordoned off the area, and all passengers were deboarded under standard operating procedures, according to Deccan Herald.

Bomb disposal teams and dog squads checked the aircraft and the passengers’ baggage for around 90 minutes. Sources at Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), the airport operator, told the paper that nothing suspicious was found and the threat was declared a hoax; the emergency was then lifted.

What IndiGo said

“A security threat was reported onboard IndiGo flight 6E 451, operating from Bengaluru to Lucknow on 07 November 2026,” an IndiGo spokesperson said in a statement carried by ANI. The airline said the authorities were informed at once, in line with its standard operating procedure, and the pilots decided to return to origin for security checks.

IndiGo said it was offering passengers refreshments and regular updates while clearances were completed. Deccan Herald reported that the flight resumed its journey to Lucknow later that night.

Authorities are trying to identify who wrote the note. No arrest or suspect had been reported at the time of writing on November 8, and IndiGo has not named the aircraft involved.

A familiar pattern at Indian airports

Handwritten notes left in lavatories have disrupted several IndiGo flights this year. On January 18, flight 6E-6650 from Delhi to Bagdogra diverted to Lucknow after a note on tissue paper in the toilet claimed there was a bomb on board, Republic reported.

At Bengaluru’s Kempegowda airport on July 16, crew found a note reading “Don’t go. Bomb Hai! Please.” in the forward lavatory of 6E-6423 to Ahmedabad, about 25 minutes before departure. Police registered a case on IndiGo’s complaint, the Free Press Journal reported.

The difference on Saturday was timing. A note found on the ground can delay a departure, while one found in the air can force the crew to bring the aircraft back to a place where it can be searched.

Europe has had its own run of threats this month, with diversions such as Wizz Air W46136 to Venice on November 6. In September, a passenger’s notes also sent Ryanair FR7073 back to Porto.

What a hoax can cost the writer

India tightened its rules after a surge of hoaxes in 2024. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told the Lok Sabha that around 1,000 hoax bomb threats had been received that year, against 122 in 2023, with more than 250 police cases and 12 arrests, All India Radio reported.

In December 2024, the civil aviation ministry amended the Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023. New rule 30A bars passing on false information that endangers an aircraft or causes panic, with a penalty of up to 100,000 rupees, PTI reported.

Rule 29A lets the director general of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security refuse a person boarding or order them off an aircraft in the interest of security. Whoever left the note on 6E451 could face those rules alongside any criminal case, once identified.