Mail warning of suspects flying to Lanka turns out to be hoax

CHENNAI: The airport here was on high alert Saturday after a mail received by Chennai airport authorities claimed that terror suspects connected to the Pahalgam massacre were boarding a SriLankan Airlines morning flight to Colombo.

Sources said Chennai airport authorities received the email at around 10.30am. Officials swung into action but the flight had departed at 9.55am. Even as security was tightened at Chennai airport, the airline concerned was alerted. Sri Lankan security forces were also informed about the mail and the aircraft was subjected to comprehensive searches upon landing in Colombo at around noon.

Later, Sri Lankan forces declared the alert a hoax as there were no passengers with suspicious history or antecedents on the flight. Airport sources said standard operating procedure was initiated as soon as the mail was noticed.

SriLankan Airlines, in a note, confirmed that the flight had been searched on landing in coordination with local authorities and that the aircraft had been cleared for further operations. However, the aircraft's next scheduled journey, to Singapore, was delayed due to the searches.