Suspicious bag scare on SpiceJet flight from Dubai was ‘false alarm’

A suspicious bag found onboard a SpiceJet flight from Dubai to Amritsar on Thursday morning, which caused a security scare at the airport, was found to be harmless.

All the passengers were offloaded at the Guru Ram Das Jee International Amritsar airport soon after the flight landed. Authorities brought in a bomb disposal squad to assess the bag. Flight operations were also briefly suspended at the airport.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet clarified that the bag belonged to a passenger who failed to board the flight after clearing immigration and security check in Dubai.

Dubai officials informed the pilot about the unaccompanied luggage, who in turn notified Amritsar Air Traffic Control officials.

As per protocol, the plane was parked at an isolated bay until the inspection was completed.

“The false alarm due to the miscommunication caused inconvenience to the passengers, which is deeply regretted,” the statement said.

SpiceJet began six-time weekly flights between Amritsar and Dubai in November last year.

The route is operated on a Boeing 737NG aircraft.