IndiGo Employee Wanted To "Teach Airline A Lesson". He Made A Hoax Call

New Delhi: Upset by a warning about his work from seniors, an employee of the IndiGo airlines allegedly put airport operations on hold for hours with a hoax call about a bomb, the police said. The man, who was arrested today, has confessed to the crime, the police said. Calling the airport on the morning of May 2, Kartik Madhav Bhat, a 23-year-old from Pune, said there was a bomb in a Mumbai-bound IndiGo flight. The airport security staff immediately issued an alert, starting a physical check of hand baggage, screening of passengers and the entire cargo area of Mumbai-bound flights.

But exhaustive searches for more than two hours drew a blank.

The security officers then declared the call as a "hoax" and investigations were started. The investigations led to the retrieval of the IndiGo employee's phone number and Bhat was arrested.

The police said Bhat had grown frustrated over his job as a customer service officer at IndiGo Airlines. The man, whose performance was poor, was told by his employers that he would face action unless he improved. Upset, he decided to "teach a lesson" to the airlines, the police said.

Bhat had completed a diploma course in Hospitality and Aviation from an institute in 2013 and had started working in the aviation industry, the police said.